


Siren's Song

by juliarose5462



Series: Teles Athans [1]
Category: The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: A Bit of Anorexic Behavior, Death, F/M, Minor Character Death(s), Torture, Violence, a bit angsty, cursing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-08
Updated: 2015-11-08
Packaged: 2018-04-30 17:18:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 37,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5172629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/juliarose5462/pseuds/juliarose5462
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Teles Athans. Life is normal, well as normal as life can be when one is an unawakened siren. One night, her family is murdered and she is utterly alone. When she gets caught up in her life, what will she find out about her heritage and how will it change her?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The buzzing and beeping invaded Tay’s ears as she woke up from a rather pleasant dream. She groaned and walked over to her alarm clock on the other side of her room. Tay hit the irritating thing until it finally shut up then switched off the alarm. The temptation to crawl back into her warm bed overwhelmed her, but she decided to go into the bathroom and splash water onto her face.

 

“Tay?” Her older brother Brasidas, Sy for short, knocked on the door.

 

“Yea?”

 

“Your shift starts in half an hour and I’m heading over there anyway, want me to drive you?” Tay opened the door and nodded.

 

“Yea, thanks Sy. I’ll meet you in the kitchen in half an hour.” She told him as she passed by to change into her uniform. He disappeared and Tay stumbled into her room then yanked open her doors. She eyed the clothes in her closet and looked around for the blue uniform shirt.

 

“Hey, looking for this?” Her mom asked as she passed by Tay’s door with a laundry basket balanced on her hip. She held out the shirt in question and Tay smiled in relief as she took it.

 

“Oh, yea. Thanks Mom.” Tay said as her mom nodded to acknowledge the thanks.

 

“That’s funny.” Her mom inquired after she tilted her head. “Where’s your music?”

 

“Oh wow. Right. I must just be really tired.” Tay walked to her dresser and pointed the remote at her speakers and soon enough, her favorite songs blared from them. “Thanks, almost forgot.”

 

Tay closed the door and undressed. She grabbed a new bra and pair of panties then walked around in her uniform shirt while she sang the lyrics to the current song that played. “It’s a love story, baby just say yes.”

 

Tay continued to dance and sing around her room as she dug through her drawer for a pair of khaki shorts. She continued to sing as she pulled the pants on and grabbed a purse. She shoved her keys, wallet, lipstick, mascara, earbuds, phone, and phone charger into the various pockets and dashed downstairs to the kitchen.

 

“Hey, I’m ready.” She announced and Sy checked his watch.

 

“Woah, and five minutes to spare. Not bad, Tay.”

 

“Thank you.” She replied with a faux-haughty tone as she bowed and the two siblings walked out the door. As Tay shut the car door behind her, she informed Sy, “Oh, I said I’d cover for Jeremy and my shift will end at seven today, so if you could pick me up then that’d be great.”

 

“Yea, no problem.” Sy said as they drove to the grill. Tay could see the sleepy town slowly come to life and she spotted the grill just a bit of a way off. “Mom says that you and I have to go to James Madison University this weekend and check it out.”

 

“Seriously? Not another brother-sister bonding road trip? She already knows I’ve got my heart set on going to University of Virginia, why do I need to see other colleges?” Tay banged her head against the headrest and groaned. “That woman just doesn’t give up, does she?”

 

“Apparently not.” Sy said with a laugh. Tay playfully shoved his shoulder and he pretended to lose control of the car for a moment. “Hey, watch it! I’m driving over here.”

 

“Don’t be mean. That was scary.” Tay pouted as they pulled into a parking spot at the grill. “I’ll see ya later Sy. Behave with Lily!”

 

“No worries!” He shouted back as he went off to meet his girlfriend at a booth. Tay watched for a moment and saw Sy greet his girlfriend of four years with a sweet kiss to the forehead before swinging around to sit in front of her. “Hey, sweetheart.”

 

Tay grinned at the two lovebirds and then went behind the bar to start serving people. Usually she didn't have to serve all that many during the day but there were a couple of people already there. She tied an apron around her waist, and went to the back to wash her hands. When she turned around, she almost knocked into Matt, who carried a bunch of boxes and couldn't see her.

 

“Hey, careful there Matt.” She said as she laughed the almost incident off. Matt was a friend of Sy’s and she enjoyed his company. “Need some help?”

 

“Yea, that’d be great.” Tay grabbed the top two boxes and set them down on the shelf where Matt directed her. “You should get out there. Damon Salvatore needs a drink.”

 

“That idiot.” She says as she rolled her eyes and bounced out of the storage room. She positioned herself behind the bar and smiled at the grumpy man in front of her. “Can I get you anything?”

 

“No, just leave me alone.” He growled as he dragged his hands down his face. Tay’s smile dimmed a bit as she felt a bit hurt by his comment but said that he should let her know if she wanted anything. She went to clean off the counters and to put the new bottles on the shelves behind her. When she filled the shelves that were within her reach, she sighed as she eyed the bottles that needed to go on the higher shelves. She huffed a frustrated breath and put her hands on her hips. 

 

“Excuse me?”

 

Tay turned around and put a smile on her face when she saw that Damon wanted a drink. “What can I get you?”

 

“A bourbon.” She nodded and got out a bottle; the movements were natural to her. Tay felt his eyes on her every movement and smiled at him as she placed the glass in front of him. She went back to how to stock the shelves. Tay figured she could climb onto the counter. She went over the idea in her head and shrugged as if to say “why not?”. She placed the heavy box of liquor on the counter then climbed on the counter herself with ease.

 

She hummed to herself as she continued to stock the shelves. “Tay, what are you doing? You’re going to hurt yourself.”

 

“I’m fine Elena. Don’t worry.” Tay said as she turned around to see her friend standing below her. Elena had her hands on her hips and she glared up at Tay, who smiled innocently back. “I’m safe. I have sneakers on and I wiped down the counters so they’re not slippery or anything. Now, stop distracting me and let me finish my job.”

 

Elena mumbled something that Tay couldn’t quite catch but Damon snickered. She was almost done stocking the shelves when Jeremy came in for his shift. She hopped down with a satisfied smile and wiped her hands as if she accomplished a hard task. Damon motioned for another drink and she poured another. Tay wiped down the counters where she stood when she put the drinks away, and smiled at the new person at the bar. Stefan Salvatore.

 

She gave him a questioning look, silently asked if he wanted something but he declined and started to talk to Damon. The two brothers started to talk about Elena and Tay zoned out; she didn’t want to eavesdrop. She went back to humming to herself and then remembered that the bar had recently hooked up a stereo system, per her request. Tay went over and picked out a favorite song and quietly went back to work as she sang to herself.

 

“I’m criticized but all your bullets ricochet. You shoot me down but I get up.” She sang as she walked around and eyed the people that ate lunch at the moment. Currently there were a lot of people and she watched as more people swarmed in. She spotted Elena, Bonnie, and Caroline as they ate lunch together and laughed for a bit. She was about to call out to them and join them, but a blur of movement caught her eye and she turned to see Matt as he weaved in between tables.

 

“Hey, Matt, need a hand with the lunch shift?” Tay called out to her co-worker. Matt gave a grateful smile and jerked his head over to a couple at a booth. Tay walked over and smiled at the two before she pulled out her notepad to help her remember what to write down. Tay did not recognize the couple, but she thought they happened to pass through town. She asked, “Hi, I’m Tay and I’ll be your waitress. What would you like to drink?”

 

The blond girl replied, “Wine, your oldest Chardonnay.”

 

“Scotch on the rocks.” The man replied and Tay found it odd that she didn’t know their names because she thought she knew everyone. “Thanks.”

 

“No problem.” She replied and flounced over to the bar to serve up the drinks. Her movements were economical, not a moment wasted, but the movements weren’t brisk; however, she moved with grace. Tay strode over with the drinks and then asked if the couple knew what they wanted to eat. She took their orders and helped Matt out with the rest of the tables. “Hey, Jeremy can you get that table over there?”

 

Jeremy nodded and walked off to help the elderly couple at the booth. Tay smiled in appreciation then went to the back to check on the food. She quickly helped prepare the rest then grabbed it as the chef said, “Here ya go.”

 

“Thanks!” She said as she walked out in a flurry, a tray balanced on her shoulder. Tay hummed along to the song that played through the buzz of conversation in the bar. The couple at the booth looked at her expectantly and she set their food in front of them then smiled at the two. “Anything else I can get you?”

 

“No. You can go now.” The blond shot back and Tay gave her a hurt and confused look but left nonetheless. She walked over to the bar and surprisingly, more people were crowded around. Tay took more and more orders ,but by the time her shift was almost over, she had a flood of drinkers that settled at the bar. She was constantly harassed by the drunks but she remained smiling. She heard the familiar creak of the seat and without yet looking at the new person she asked, “What can I get you?”

 

“Scotch on the rocks.” The man from earlier replied and Tay looked up at the peculiar accent. She smiled when she met his eyes and went to serve him his drink.

 

“Here you go, sir.” She placed the drink in front of him and then went back to another demanding customer, a regular at the bar. “What can I get for you Damon?”

 

“Screwdriver.” He slurred out and she gave him a questioning look. Damon’s drunk, she thought to herself as she watched him stagger away.

 

“Sure.” She gave him a small drink. She turned the radio up more and sang along as she quickly cleaned out the dirty glasses left behind by the drunken fools. Tay never got the appeal of alcohol; it ruined lives and lowered inhibitions, which caused the drinker to lose control and Tay hated to lose control. She shook her head and focused on cleaning. She sang along and nodded her head to the beat.

 

“You have a lovely voice, sweetheart.” Tay looked up at the person and it was the man again. She smiled at him in response to his compliment.

 

“Thanks. How’d you hear me? It’s a bit loud in here.” She asked, her eyes pointedly accused the guys at the pool table who yelled very loudly.

 

“Excellent hearing.” He smirked as if something was funny to him. “What’s your name?”

 

“Teles but most people call me Tay. What’s yours?”

 

“Amell.”

 

“It was nice to meet you Amell.” Tay spotted someone at the end of the bar who waited for a drink and she nodded her head in goodbye then walked over to serve the new person. She went back to her work and soon enough a bunch of college guys came in and shouted orders at her. Soon enough they were drunk and started flirting and wolf whistling. She went to get them more drinks but every time she turned away from them, Tay found herself gritting her teeth and clenching her fists. Tay forced a smile on her face and kept working.

 

Tay glanced at the clock, only half an hour left. “Hey bitch. Where’s my drink?”

 

She turned around to find a drunk idiot; he yelled at her with a cocky smile on his face. Clearly wasted. “What would you like?”

 

“Vodka.” Tay turned around and closed her eyes, praying for patience with this crowd. The sooner they leave, the better. She poured the drink in a glass and handed it to him. The guy took a swig then glanced at Tay, but he moved so quickly that she didn’t see it coming.

 

He threw the contents of the drink at her face and she gasped at the abrupt cold and the ice that hit her face. She wiped the sticky mess off her face and glared at the guys. Tay saw Matt trying to hand her a dish rag and she gladly accepted. The crowd was kicked out and she was glad to be rid of them. “Ugh, I look like a mess.”

 

“Yea, just a bit.” Matt said with a charming smile that seemed to pull up more on one side than the other. Tay smiled back and said thanks with a sarcastic tone. “Why don’t you go home? Your shift’s almost over anyway.”

 

“Really? You sure? “ Tay asked as Matt nodded. “Thanks Matt, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

 

She went back to the storage room and grabbed her purse. Tay waited outside for Sy to come and pick her up.


	2. Chapter 2

Half and hour past seven and Sy still wasn’t there. He didn’t his phone and Tay stood there, pissed as she could be. She wished she had driven herself to work, but it was too late now. She’d learn from her mistakes. Tay dug through her purse in search for her chap stick and she had her ear buds in so she didn’t hear when Amell greeted her. He tapped her on the shoulder with a smirk when she jumped a mile high. She pulled out an ear bud and smiled. “Hi, Amell.”

 

“Hello. Are you alright?” He asked, referring to the drunken incident.

 

“Yea, I’m fine. I get that a lot.” She waved it off.

 

“People throw their drinks at you often?” He asked with a smirk on his face. She laughed and shook her head.

 

“No, but I deal with those kinds of people all the time. It’s no big deal.” He seemed to disagree with her statement. Tay glanced down at her phone and saw that Sy was almost forty minutes late. She huffed in frustration and asked herself, “Ugh, where is that idiot?”

 

“What’s wrong?” He asked, his eyebrows scrunched up in curiosity and he looked at her with big concerned brown eyes that made her want to listen to every word he said.

 

“Nothing.” She waved it off. He gave her a look and she let out a breathy laugh when she was caught. “Fine, my brother is running late. He said he’d pick me up forty minutes ago.”

 

“I can take you home.”

 

“As much as I would love to take you up on the offer, I don’t know you but thanks.” She said with a small smile. “I’ll just call my mom, I guess.”

 

“If you insist. Good luck.” He said as he walked off to his car and she stood there, watching him leave. She went to call her mom at home, but then she remembered that Mom and Dad were out to dinner. She groaned and then started to walk the five miles to her house.

 

Her purse started to irritate her two miles in on her walk home as it banged against her leg. Tay was tempted to just drag it along but it was leather and expensive so she switched the shoulder it was on. She put her music on speaker and sang aloud, as there was no one around that she could see. “You wrecked me, oh you wrecked me.”

 

Tay sighed as she trudged up the hill that would ultimately lead her to her house. She looked around her to make sure no one followed her. Tay didn’t see anyone and she went on her way. Unfortunately for Tay, the hill was a lone road with forest surrounding the sides. She turned off her music so she could hear better and put her phone away in her purse. “I’m so killing Sy when I see him next.”

 

She finally made it the house to find Sy and his girlfriend, Lily making out on the couch, half naked. She screamed and covered her eyes. “Seriously, you couldn’t be bother to pick me up because of this, Sy?”

 

She groaned and complained bitterly about being blinded for the rest of her life as she blindly made her way up the stairs. Tay uncovered her eyes as she reached the top of the stairs and went to her room. She flipped the switch to illuminate her room and flopped down on her bed, exhausted from her shift and her walk. Eventually, Tay dragged herself off her bed and got dressed into something comfortable.

 

The moon’s reflection in the mirror caught her eyes and she walked over to her window and pulled open the curtains to let in the moonlight. She gazed at the moon and then walked over to her dresser and took out her contacts. Tay put her glasses on and grabbed a book to sit by the window while classical music played in the background.

 

Hours later, she heard her parents pull into the gravel driveway and she startled herself out of her semi- unconscious state. Tay abruptly got up and flicked off her lights when she heard her parents walk into the house. She quietly sat by the window to read by moonlight and curled herself into a ball of blankets as she continued to read then eventually Tay fell asleep, unaware of the eyes that watched her.

 

~~

 

She woke up to the noise of a slammed door and, startled, she awoke with a jolt and fell out of the window seat. The intruder snickered and Tay lifted her head to glare at her brother as she straightened her glasses. “Go away Sy.”

 

“Mom said you need to get up. You have lessons that start in an hour.” Sy reminded her as he walked out with a grin. Tay, still on the floor, dropped her head and knocked it against the hardwood floor with a groan of pain. She twisted out of her blankets and struggled to get up. Tay walked over to her closet to pull out a forest green cardigan, a pair of black jeans, and beige ankle boots with a bit of heel.

 

She straightened her glasses but then pulled them away from her face, disgusted by the finger prints that smudged the glass. Tay walked over to the bathroom, the heels on her shoes punctuated her every step on the wooden floors. She pulled off her glasses, washed her face and brushed her teeth, then cleaned the glasses. Before she put them on, she applied a bit of mascara on then waited until the makeup was dry to put the glasses on. Tay didn’t feel like putting her contacts in, it was a lazy day for her. She walked downstairs to the kitchen to find her mom making breakfast, her dad typing away on his computer, and Sy watching TV while eating cereal. “Hey mom.”

 

“Good morning.” Her mom greeted as Tay hugged her and kissed her father on her head as Tay passed by.

 

“How was dinner last night?” She inquired as she poured herself a glass of orange juice. “I didn’t hear you all come in.”

 

“We came home pretty late, but it was great.” Her mom said as she continued to make a mix for blueberry muffins. “Eat up, Tay. You should probably leave in... ten minutes.”

 

“Not hungry, and I already brushed my teeth so it’d be gross even if I ate anyway.” She shrugged and grabbed her purse from the front table. “I might as well go now. Bye guys!”

 

She heard their chorus of goodbyes as she hopped into her car and drove off to her voice lessons. Tay turned on the radio and sang along, warming up her voice for later. She pulled into the parking lot of the institute and walked the familiar hallways down to the auditorium. Chris, the instructor, waited for her in the wings as he dragged out the piano.

 

“Hey Chris. What’s up?” She greeted as she hopped on stage and dropped her bag in the corner.

 

“Not much, not much. How about you, bug?” Tay never really got the nickname but she didn’t mind either. He gestured to Tay to help him get the piano bench and she walked over then picked up the bench. “Heard about your little incident yesterday.”

 

“Oh great. Does the whole town know?”

 

“If I know, then the whole town knows.” Chris smiled and Tay laughed, because her friend wasn’t one for gossip. “Let’s get started, shall we?”

 

“Okay.” She stood by the piano, her back to the empty seats in the auditorium and waited until Chris sat down at the piano. The two warmed up and he often corrected her after he interrupted her. She would respond with a look most of the time but tried to fix it. After a twenty minutes of warm up, she began to complain. “Can we please start with the other songs now?”

 

“Sure. A Thousand Years, first?” He asked. He pulled out the sheet music and practiced the chords on the piano before he started. She loved this song and was ecstatic when Chris picked it out for her.

 

“Heart beats fast. Colors and promises. How to be brave? How can I love when I’m afraid to fall?” She started as Chris harmonized with her. He smiled at her and often glanced down at the keys to make sure he wouldn’t play the song wrong. “I have died everyday waiting for you. Darling don’t be afraid I have loved you for a thousand years. I’ll love you for a thousand more.”

 

They finished the song; the last note lingered in the air as they smiled at each other. But soon enough Chris started to fix her breathing technique and some of her pronunciations. Tay must have sang that song multiple times before Chris decided to let her go. They packed up and Chris walked next to her as they made their way out of the auditorium. “Hey, the high school wants to put on a production to commemorate the founders or whatever. Interested in auditioning?”

 

“Why do you even ask? You know I don’t like singing in front of people.” Tay pushed her glasses up and gave her friend and teacher a teasing scathing look. Chris mimicked her and she broke eye contact, unable to resist smiling.

 

“But you sing in front of me.” He argued after their brief interlude.

 

“But I like you. Plus, you’re being paid.”

 

“There’s not a difference between singing in front of me and the town.” Tay frowned at his logic. She was pretty sure there was a difference in the crowd size. Plus, she was comfortable with Chris and she wasn’t ready to sing in front of a big crowd.

 

“But there’s a difference in having to sing and wanting to sing.” Chris sighed.

 

“Please, bug?”

 

“No, Chris.” Tay mocked back in the same pleading tone.

 

“If I can get you to be comfortable singing in front of people within a week, then will you audition? The play’s West Side Story.” He gave her a hopeful, pleading look with a sad puppy dog touch that made it almost irresistible. Almost.

 

“What? That’s my favorite play!” She gave him a glare while he continued his pleading expression. Tay finally caved with a heavy sigh. “Fine. If you can make me comfortable singing in front of people, then I will audition.”

 

“Yes!” He shouted as he opened the door for her. He kissed her on the cheek before he said, “I’ll see you later, bug.”

 

“Bye, Chris.” She rolled her eyes and made her way to her car. Then she remembered that she forgot her bag so she headed back inside to the auditorium. She pushed the heavy doors open and they made her jump as they closed with a bang. Tay laughed at herself for being so silly and walked down to get her purse. When she walked down she eyed the piano that sat there in the front of the stage.

 

Letting herself give in to temptation, she took off the cover, lifted the lid of the piano and sat on the bench. Tay traced the keys before she started to play Say Something. She lost herself in the music. She sang loudly and confidently as she played. When the song ended, she didn’t miss a beat and continued on to play another song. But when she was done with that she heard clapping and jumped up and knocked over the bench. She cursed in her head and looked out in the dark auditorium. “Who’s there?”

 

“Only me.” The familiar voice sent a wave of relief over her, but she was confused as to why Amell was there.

 

“Not trying to be rude, but why are you here?” Tay struggled to see Amell in the darkened auditorium and she squinted into the rows and rows of seats.

 

“I heard a lovely voice and I came to listen.” Her heartbeat was erratic and she tried to calm herself down. “Don’t let me interrupt.”

 

“Okay, that doesn’t really explain why you were in the building in the first place.” Her tone was obviously suspicious and she was sure Amell could hear it.

 

“I had business.” He vaguely answered and Tay’s eyes narrow as she nervously taps on the piano, a staccato rhythm that bounced off the walls. “Please continue. Don’t let me stop you.”

 

“I think that’s enough for now.” Tay fixed the piano bench and walked around the piano to lower the lid and put the cover back on. Her entire being was tense, she clenched her fists and she tried to calm her heartbeat again; it beat heavily and loudly. “I have places to be, people to see.”

 

Tay picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder, and dug through it to find her car keys. She twirled the keys around on her finger and looked around for Amell; she peered into the dark stands but she couldn’t spot him. He tapped her on the shoulder and Tay let out a gasp of surprise. “Jumpy today, are we?”

 

This is getting really creepy, Tay thought to herself as she inched away from him. She laughed nervously and walked out the door, feeling Amell’s eyes on her every movement. Her heart thumped noisily in her chest and she was sure Amell could hear her heart. “You have a lovely voice, Teles.”

 

The syllables in her name rolled off his tongue with ease and she found herself actually liking when someone called her by her name. “Thank you. It was… nice talking to you Amell, but I should go. Bye.”

 

“Goodbye.” He stood by the door and she started to move toward her car.

 

She waved and smiled goodbye as she walked down the steps. Something wet touched her hand and she looked down in time to see the raindrop disappear into her skin. Tay looked up and saw the ominous dark clouds hanging above her head, and smiled as it started to pour heavily. She let her hair out of her braid and let the rain pour down her neck, which left wet marks on her shirt. Tay hummed in appreciation for the rain and took her sweet time walking to her car.

 

She unlocked the car and put the key into the ignition, the radio blasted as soon as the car turned on. She sang along and let the window down; she allowed the rain to soak into her skin as well as her car but she didn’t mind because the seats were covered in plastic. Tay pulled into the driveway and twirled around outside. She tilted her face up at the sky and let the rain soak into her bones. She finally went inside and her mom smiled at her soaked daughter, who stood at the door entry, soaked to the bone and a wide smile on her face.

 

“Enjoying the rain sweetheart?”

 

“You have no idea. I’m going to go for a run. I’ll be back.” Tay said as she headed upstairs to change into a tank top and running shorts. SHe could feel her mom rolling her eyes at her antics and she grinned. She peeled off the wet clothes and stuck them in the bathtub then walked to her closet and pulled out a pair of shorts from the drawer and a tank top from a hanger. She jogged back downstairs and yelled out,“See ya!”

 

“Be safe!” Her mom yelled back as Tay closed the door behind her.

 

She took a moment to let the rain soak her through and then stretched her arms and legs then started into a slow jog; she wanted to savor the run. Her tennis shoes slapped the puddles and wet pavement as she ran; her arms pumped by her sides and her hair stuck to her back. Occasionally, she would peel her hair away from her face then she ran down the hill and she turned left and headed into the forest down her usual trail.

 

Tay kept her eyes on the ground as she did not want to trip over a stray root or slip on a pile of wet leaves. She kept going, her legs started to burn and her breath became more labored. But she persevered onto her midway point, the waterfall. It came into view and she slowed down in a speed walk. Tay stared up at the beauty, her eyes did not stray from the thunderous waters that rushed past her in the river that flowed down from the falls. She wanted to climb to the top like usual, but she knew she had to go the pool and get in the water.

 

She turned back with one last longing look at the waterfall and started back into a jog. She eyed the hill with a determined look and then continued on. Her legs burned but she knew if she wanted to get up the hill she had to push harder and run faster. She saw her house in the distance, and she summoned all her energy to give herself one last push to the house. She smiled when she jogged into the driveway and then walked a lap around the house to calm down her heartbeat. The rain had slowed down and it became a drizzle, then just a faint mist.

 

Her legs felt like jell-o as she climbed the few steps into the house. Her mom looked at her wet daughter, a combination of sweat and rain, then shook her head. Tay smiled back, a bit exhausted but made herself drink some water. “You should take a shower.”

 

“I’ll do it at the pool. I should go now if I want to get the most out of it.” Her mom gave her an understanding look then told her that Elena dropped by earlier. “Really? What’d she want?”

 

“She said that they were throwing a party to celebrate summer later and they wanted you to join.” 

 

“Okay, thanks Mom.” Tay said as she walked up the stairs, a slight wince on her face as she felt the pull of sore muscles complain about the movement. “I’ll text her later.”

 

Tay walked into the bathroom and grabbed her towel, her swim bag and her purse. Then remembered that she needed to change and dumped all her bags on her bed. The open window caught her eye before she started to change and she let out a grateful sigh. Even though her house was surrounded by forest, she didn’t feel comfortable with an open window, privy to anyone’s leering eyes. As soon as the curtains were closed, she stripped out of her wet clothes but found it irritating to peel herself out of her tight tank top.

 

With one last tug she was finally free and she roughly dried herself off with a towel then changed into another tank top and shorts. Then she grabbed her bags and headed out the door. “I’ll be back at seven! I’m eating dinner at the grill with Elena.”

 

“Okay!” Her mom yelled back. “Have fun!”

 

“Kay!” Tay yelled back as she closed the door behind her. After she threw her bags into the passenger seat, she started her sleek 2014 Toyota Corolla. She smiled as it purred to life and started her way to the pool.


	3. Chapter 3

She hopped out of her car and padded over to the front desk. She smiled at Ray who was manning the front desk and he winked back cheekily. Of course, Ray had a boyfriend who he was completely devoted to but Tay found it amusing nonetheless. Tay walked around the main compound then she walked into the changing rooms and bumped into a familiar face. “Hey, Caroline.”

 

“Tay! What are you doing here?” Tay was gathered into her best friend’s arms. The bubbly blond smiled in surprise and adjusted her sunglasses on her head.

 

“Swim. What else do you do at the pool?”

 

“Tan, check out cute boys, drink.” She quickly listed off as she looked at Tay with her big eyes.

 

“I prefer the water.”

 

“I know but that doesn’t mean you can’t join us, silly. Come on, Elena and Bonnie are outside waiting for me.” Caroline linked her arm through Tay’s and with surprising strength she dragged her best friend out the door and into the lounge section. “Look who I found!”

 

A chorus of greetings met her ears as she was hugged. “Hey girls.”

 

Tay sat down at the end of Bonnie’s chair and sat criss crossed in the sun as her friends adjusted their positions to accommodate her. “Ooooh, I love your bathing suit Elena.”

 

“Thanks, Damon got for me as a joke.” Elena rolled her eyes as she said this Bonnie and Caroline rolled their eyes as well. Well, it was cute. The revealing two piece was black and red striped with white sewing.

 

“Speaking of boys, started any flings yet, Tay?” Of course, Caroline had to bring up boys. Tay bit her lip and sighed. If only.

 

“Nope. I’ve been busy with work, lessons, and stuff so far.” At this, everybody groaned and gave each other looks. “What?”

 

“Can’t you just relax for once?” Bonnie asked with a knowing grin. “We have the rest of our lives to work.”

 

“I’m with Bonnie on this, you need to relax.” Elena chimed in and Tay huffed. “Come on, just for today?”

 

Everybody looked at her with pleading faces and as Tay laughed, she agreed to relax for today. Everybody started their own conversations and Tay found herself talking to Bonnie. They quickly caught up and laughed together then Bonnie asked, “So how are your lessons going?”

 

“Great. Chris is trying to get me to be comfortable singing in front of people and if he does in a week then I have to audition for the production of West Side Story.” She told her and Caroline jumped in.

 

“Omigosh, you’re gonna audition right?” Her squeal brought the attention of Elena. Tay bit her lip when she hesitated to answer. “No, don’t say it. You’re going to audition even if I have to drag you there myself.”

 

“Come on, Care, you know I hate singing in front of people.”

 

“You sing in front of us.”

 

Tay could feel herself losing the argument as she listened to everybody encouraging her to audition and face her fears. “It’s different singing in front of you guys. I know you and I’m not afraid of sounding like a dying frog.”

 

“You couldn’t sound like dying frog if you wanted to.” Bonnie protested. Caroline jumped up and fixed her bathing suit.

 

“Come on. I think they have karaoke here.” She said as she pulled Tay up and tried to pull her towards the bar.

 

“No, Care. I can’t.” She protested as Elena and Bonnie pushed her towards the bar, despite her best efforts to get out of her friend’s iron clad grip. “Please guys. Not now.”

 

“Scaredy cat. The stage isn’t gonna hurt you.” Elena teased her friend’s shyness. Tay’s heart started to race as Caroline jumped up on stage in nothing but a bikini and picked out a song.

 

“Tay, get up here.” She said into the mike and looked over to where she just saw her friend. “Where’d she go?”

 

Tay ran into the bathroom and locked a stall door. She sat down on the closed lid of the toilet and tried to breath in and out. Her heart raced and jumped in her chest as she continued to breath. She pulled at her hair and twisted it as somebody came into the bathroom. “Tay?”

 

It was Bonnie. Tay’s breath came out labored as she calmed herself down. She shook out her hands to expel excess energy from her body as Bonnie knocked on the stall door. “Are you okay?”

 

“I feel like I’m about to pass out.” Bonnie tried to open the door but she didn’t have to as Tay came out, shaking a bit. She walked over to the sink and splashed some water on her face. The water snapped her out of the terrified state she had been in and she became aware of Bonnie’s hand on her back. “Thanks.”

 

Her friends came in and saw Tay. “There you are.”

 

“Hey.” She let out in a breath and stood up straight. Caroline started to apologize, but Tay cut her off. “It’s fine Caroline. I’m okay.”

 

“Let’s try to ease you into it.” Elena said with a smile and that made everyone laugh. “Let’s go for a swim.”

 

“That sounds great.” Tay walked out with her friends and dived into the deep end. She came up for a breath of air and let herself feel the comfort of the water on her body. She hummed in appreciation and then enjoyed the rest of the day with her best friends.

 

Tay was relaxed on the chair and she let the sun soak into her skin, which left her a warm tingly sensation as the water evaporated. The music in the background, her friends next to her, and a drink in her hand made her feel more relaxed than she had been in a while. She sighed and slowly closed her eyes. Someone whistled, probably at the others and someone nudged her. Tay opened her eyes and saw Caroline at the end of her chair. She moved Tay’s long legs and crossed her own as she smiled.

 

“That guy over there with the plaid shorts and playing volleyball just whistled at you. Didn’t you notice?” She gave an exasperated happy smile at Tay with a shake of her hands.

 

“Oh, that was to me?” Tay raised an eyebrow.

 

“Of course, silly. Who else?” She said.

 

“I don’t know. Maybe you or Elena or Bonnie or you?” Tay said as she sighed and slipped her shades back on and tried to relax again.

 

“Please, you’re gorgeous. Go over there and talk to him.” Caroline gave her friend a nudge in his direction and the guy caught Tay’s glance at him and he waved her over. “See he wants to talk to you.”

 

“Fine.” She grumbled as she walked over. Tay smiled at him and he greeted her with a smile of his own. Well, he was cute, she’d give him that. From his toned body, his dark hair, and irresistible green eyes, he was killer. “Hi, I’m Tay.”

 

“Spencer.” He greeted and he walked away from his friends to join her as they had started to tease him about talking to Tay. “Sorry about my friends. They’re a bunch of… maniacs to say the least.”

 

“No worries. My friends are too.” Tay turns around to see Caroline, Elena, and Bonnie quickly look away with smiles on their faces. “Are you new to town?”

 

“Yea, I just moved here with my uh family.” He reached behind his head and scratched it with an unsure half-smile on his face. Tay cocked her head at his unsure nature and gave him a weird look before she said anything.

 

“Really? You don’t seem so sure of that.” She teased and he gave her a nervous smile back. She nudged him in an effort to relax him and said, “Calm down, I’m only joking.”

 

He relaxed and let out sigh of relief. “Can I get you something to drink?”

 

“No, I’m good.” She shrugged off his offer then the empty volleyball court caught her eye. “Wanna play some volleyball, we can get your friends and my friends to play.”

 

“Okay. I’ll be back.” The two branched off and walked over to their friends and Tay came back with a smile on her face.

 

“What happened? You didn’t even give him your number or anything.” Caroline whined. “You’re supposed to making friends, Tay.”

 

“I came over to ask if you guys wanted to play a game of volleyball with his friends too. It’ll be fun.” She added in response to Bonnie’s expression and Caroline’s words. She looked over her shoulder to see Spencer staring at her then he quickly looked away with a small smile. She blushed and turned back to her friends with an expectant look. Elena watched her friend look happy and she nodded her agreement to play volleyball.

 

“If it will get you to finally talk to a guy, then sure.” Bonnie says with a teasing smile. Caroline agreed and they walked over to the sandy court where Spencer and his friends were waiting.

 

“Hey Tay. This is Nick, Tate, Silas, Joe, and Tyler.” Spencer turned to each one of them and they both responded with a nod of acknowledgement. 

 

“Yea, I know Tyler. This is Bonnie, Caroline, and Elena.” Tay introduced pointing to her friends.

 

“Stop flirting and let’s start playing!” Tyler called out and Silas wolf-whistled as he tossed the ball to Spencer who in turn gave it to Tay.

 

“Ladies first.” He smiled, bowed, and Tay walked back to serve it. Fortunately for her, she knew how to serve a volleyball pretty well and it sailed over the net and it became a battle of the genders. Boy, were those boys strong and could move fast. Silas bumped the ball to Joe, who set up Tate for the spike and he hit it over the net and Elena dove for the ball. She bumped it up and Bonnie set and Tay hit, but Tyler scrambled in the sand to save the ball.

 

Tate and Silas worked the rest of the play and sent it over the net; Tay laughed as Bonnie and Caroline collided into each other in an effort to get the ball. She dived for it before it could touch the ground and thankfully got it up so Elena could spike it. But the guys won in the end, probably due to their strength, speed, and the fact that they had two extra people on their side. Tay walked to the net where Spencer stood on the other side and gave him a teasing pout and said, “Ugh, no fair.”

 

The teams declared the end as the boys reached twenty-five points and a chorus of fighting erupted as Tay’s friends tried to sweet talk their way out of losing. Tay caught Spencer’s eye and the two shared a smile at their friends’ bickering. He leaned in and said to their friends while looking at Tay, “Fine as a consolation prize, why don’t we go to the grill and all have dinner together?” 

 

Cheers erupted and Tay smiled at her new friend.


	4. Chapter 4

The new friends scattered around the bar, pairing off. Some of them played pool, ate, drank. Spencer had disappeared somewhere, but that was okay because she was talking to a sandy Tyler. She laughed at his joke but then was promptly dragged away by Caroline by her elbow.

 

“Hey what’s wrong?” Tay asked as she rubbed her elbow. “Damn, have you been working out or something?”

 

“Why were you talking to Tyler?” Caroline demanded. Does she like him? Well, she didn’t have to worry about Tay and Tyler because there was nothing between them and she told Caroline as much. “Oh. Sorry, Tay.”

 

“It’s okay. I get the feeling.” Tay smiled and then walked over to find another person to have a conversation. Fortunately she didn’t have to look far. She found Jeremy and started talking with him. He had gotten taller and stronger since she last saw him. “Hey, I missed you at the game, where were you?”

 

“Elena doesn’t want me hanging out with her and her friends.” He gave a roll of his eyes and smiled. 

 

“Trust me, being the younger sibling sucks. But I’m pretty sure having an older brother sucks more.” Jeremy gave her a doubtful look. “What? You don’t believe me?”

 

“Not really.”

 

“Do you know how many guys I haven’t dated because Sy scares them off, or better yet, my cop dad?” Tay gave a disappointed shake of her head and smiled a bit at Jeremy. “I get where Elena’s coming from, I do. But sometimes, you just want to say, ‘Get out of my business’, right?”

 

“How about like all the time?” Jeremy said before Spencer walked over and came into the conversation.

 

“Hey, Spencer. What’s up?” She side-hugged Spencer and felt something buzz in her pocket. She pulled it out and saw the reminder to feed Lynx, her dog. “Oh crap. I gotta go guys, I’ll talk to you later!”

 

Spencer, Jeremy, and Spencer’s friends hugged her goodbye and she found Caroline in the back with Tyler. “Hey, I’m going home.”

 

Caroline pouted but nodded then hugged her goodbye and Tay walked out of the grill. She went to find her car and hopped in. Wanting nothing more than a hot shower at the moment, she sped home as she sang along to the radio. “Written in these walls are the stories that I can’t explain. I leave my heart open but it stays right there, empty for days.”

 

Tay pulled into her driveway and opened the door then stepped into the house. The hallway was completely trashed and glass from knocked over photos littered the ground. “Woah, what happened here? Sy, were you playing soccer again? Hello, Mom?”

 

No response. Something was wrong. Mom was always home. Tay frowned and put down her purse then hung up her coat. “Dad? Sy?”

 

She walked through the house after setting her stuff down by the front door. Tay’s flip flops smacked on the floor and crunched the grass. She walked in and heard someone whimpered and Tay walked cautiously towards the sound. “Mom?”

 

Tay continued to walk down the hall and everywhere she looked she saw something broken or cracked. What happened? She put her hand on the wall to balance herself as she walked around the broken glass and felt something gooey. She recoiled and stared at the red blood on her hand. Her hand shook then she started to run to the living room and she saw her mom on her knees, a gag in her mouth, and a bunch of blood. Her mom saw her and started to shake her head, her eyes big and wide with fear. “What happened?”

 

Her mom continued to try to communicate but Tay walked over and tried to ungag her but something stung her hands. She hissed in pain and pulled her hands back. She looked down and they seemed to smoke. Her mom looked behind Tay but Tay was too busy to notice. She gasped when something stabbed her in the back and Tay fell to her knees, her world blackening around her as she lost consciousness.

 

~~

 

“Wake up darling.” Someone shook her awake and Tay groaned. Her tongue felt dry and her head, heavy. Her head pounded as if someone had taken a hammer to it repeatedly.

 

“Go away, Sy.” She grumbled as she lifted her head that felt like it weighed a thousand tons. Her shoulders would not move and it hurt to do anything. Something poked her cheek. Something blocked her from speaking clearly. 

 

“Wake up bitch!” The insult startled her awake; her brain released an icy wave of chemicals that caused her to think clearly and she looked around to find herself in a really dark area… cell? Tay’s eyes adjusted to the darkness and she made out a figure in front of her. “Ah, you’re finally awake. Took you long enough.”

 

She screamed at his face; black veins vividly stood out underneath black eyes and fangs pointed out from his mouth. Tay started to shake from fear, her heart started to race and her body went into shock mode. Everything in her told her to run but the chains said a different story. She tried to scream but it lodged in her throat and made her choke.

 

“I’m sorry, I don’t quite understand.” The man circled her as she hung by her arms because her feet did not touch the floor. “But I won’t remove that pretty little gag that keeps you from killing me.”

 

What was this man talking about? How was removing her gag going to kill him? Fear wracked her body and her arms were burning like hell. She whimpered and tears soaked into her skin. She tried to struggle against the bonds that held her, but suddenly, the man moved so fast that she didn’t see the slap that whipped her across the face. She watched as he moved to a lighter area where she saw a lot of knives, whips, and other things she couldn’t name. He picked up a small dagger and spun it around in his fingers. As he walked slowly towards her, she started to struggle and move away from him and she screamed loudly behind the gag. Tay shook her head in fear and watched helplessly as he neared closer. 

 

“Sh, calm down darling. It’ll just be a pinch.” He gripped her chin and looked her in the eyes and she was forced to look at him as he drove the dagger into her thigh. She screamed bloody murder and the pain vibrated throughout her body as he twisted it around. Tears fell in streams and her heart pounded from adrenaline. Someone walked in as her torturer slowly pulled out the serrated blade. She whimpered and screamed as he kept pulling it out. The gag dried out her throat and Tay cried harder and harder.

 

“What are you doing?” The guy demanded to know as Tay closed her eyes and tried to fight through the pain. She cried and tried to keep the pain out of her thoughts. Her leg burned and she moaned in agony. “I didn’t say torture her. I just said to kidnap her! She isn’t eighteen yet so she hasn’t awakened you fucking idiot.”

 

Tay groaned and opened her eyes to find a man with slicked back hair in a business suit staring back at her. She glared at the man and his minion as they continued to talk as if she wasn’t there. “Sorry, boss.”

 

Tay saw the man in the business suit shoot a glare at the other man and in the blink of an eye had a heart in his hand. She looked at the dead man with a bloody hole in his chest as he lay at her feet. Her eyes grew wide and her own heart pounded even heavier in her chest as he turned towards her. “Let’s get that gag off you.”

 

The man reached up and traced her cheekbone as he took off the gag. When he came closer she recognized his face. Amell. Tay gasped for a breath of air, her tongue feeling dry. The man just watched her then walked a good distance away from her. Tay managed to snarl out, “What do you want?”

 

“You’re just a bargaining chip, sweetheart. No need to fear me.” He leaned against the table and picked up a knife. Amell began twirling it in his hands, balancing it between his two fingers. “Want a drink?”

 

“No.” Tay glared at Amell as she felt the blood still pouring out from her thigh wound. “Stay away from me.”

 

“If you insist.” The man turned to leave the room but whipped around and the knife he had been twirling earlier embedded itself next to her arm, grazing the skin only slightly. She screamed and cried even more. Then he left and slammed the heavy metal door behind him.

 

Tay finally let herself think beyond the pain in her leg. Her mom. What happened to her? She needed to know and it drove her crazy to think that her mom could be dead. “Amell, what the hell did you do to my family? Amell! Amell! You bastard, what did you do to my family? I need to know!”

 

Her pointless screams echo off the walls and she continued to scream until her throat ran raw. She cried and cried herself to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

She awoke to find a different man tracing her skin with a bloody knife. Tay waited for him to plunge the dagger and he did, into her rib cage, just narrowly missing the edge of her lung. Her screams echoed off the walls and it continued for hours on end. She assumed the blade had poison on it as it burned her skin to the touch. Only occasionally would she be provided relief when she passed out from too much pain.

 

Tay woke up from unconsciousness. She groaned and realized she was somewhere different than before. She wasn’t hung up anymore and her arms craved the relief. Tay opened her eyes and squinted into the bright lights. An unfamiliar man loomed over her and grabbed her neck then squeezed. She gasped for air and she struggled in his grip then he plunged her head into a bucket of water. He shoved her down there and kept her under for a while. She began to swallow water, but started to choke and he brought her up and she struggled for air. Tay spit out a bunch of water then she was plunged back under. She screamed and thrashed about until she hit her head on the side and knocked herself unconscious.

 

Tay woke up to find herself suspended from the ground. Her feet didn’t even touch the paved ground. She could see her thigh wound had scarred with blood caked on her skin and multiple bruises covering her legs. Tay’s shirt had become mere tatters and her shorts were covered. Each breath brought a wrack of pain as she knew the man had broken several of her ribs. The pain in her neck from lying her head against her chest shot up into her skull and eventually she passed out.

 

~~

 

“Tay, wake up!” Somebody woke her up. She screamed and thrashed about, trying to get away from the person touching her; she thought it was the man who had dunked her in the water. She pushed away the hands and closed her eyes shut. “Oh what did they do to you, bug?”

 

Tay’s eyes shot open and she found herself looking at Chris. Her throat burned as she spoke, her voice came out raspy, “What? What are you doing here? You need to leave before they come back.”

 

“Here to save you.” Chris looked at her shackles that kept her poised above the ground. He reached up for the chains and said, “You sure got yourself into a pickle didn’t you?”

 

She just groaned and Chris yanked on her chains, attempting to break them. Elena suddenly appeared next to Chris. She took a quick glance at Tay with a shocked expression on her face and prepared to catch Tay as Chris broke the metal that burned Tay’s skin. She collapsed into Elena’s arms and Chris picked her up. She groaned and buried her head into his chest; her eyes fluttered closed.

 

“Damon give her some of your blood!” Elena called out and Tay opened her eyes to see Damon Salvatore rush in and then promptly bit his wrist. Tay struggled to get away from him and she closed her mouth as Damon shoved his wrist in her face. She shook her head away from him and Damon gripped the back of her head as she was forced the poisonous blood.

 

She gasped as her throat felt like it was burning and her body started to shake. Tay whimpered again and she screamed as the pain exploded in her head. Tay threw her body around and tried to escape from the fire that burned throughout her body. Chris dropped her due to her struggling and before she passed out, she saw everyone’s concerned face looking at her.

 

~~

 

Her feet slapped the ground and she looked behind her at a man with a creepy mask on and she tried to run faster. Her feet wouldn’t cooperate and her heart started to race and she struggled to run faster. She propelled herself from the ground by grabbing the grass in front of her and pushing herself off the ground. Tay looked behind her and didn’t see the man. She turned back around and gasped as he appeared in front of her. He neared closer and reached for her neck. 

 

She bolted upright, her breaths came out in short gasps. Tay woke up to the soft sound of her favorite classical pieces playing. She was confused. What happened? She found herself in an unfamiliar room and she stood up but almost fell over from the wave of dizziness that consumed her. She held onto the bed post and stood there until her vision and equilibrium returned. Her leg burned from the stab wound but she tried to ignore her burning ribs, her pounding head, and aching legs. As soon as her balance returned, she limped towards the door and found it locked. Panicked gripped her throat and she pulled harder but groaned in frustration when it didn’t give. Tay gave up on the door and looked around her for a means of escape then eyed the window.

 

She pulled on the locks then opened it and felt the cool breeze on her damaged skin. Tay removed the screen as quietly as she could and slowly climbed into the nearest tree. She tried to scale down as quickly and safely as she could but often the branches would dig into her skin and she winced. She breathed in and out slowly, trying to get through the pain in her ribs. She looked back at the unfamiliar house and tried to run away. Her feet pounded along with her head. Suddenly Damon and Stefan appeared in front of her; Tay screamed and backed away.

 

“Tay, it’s okay, we’re not going to hurt you.” Stefan tried to comfort her but that’s what the man said before he whipped her. Bruised her. Cut her. Her body started to shake and Stefan turned to his brother and said, “Damon let’s get her back into the house.”

 

Damon started walking back towards the house and looked over his shoulder as if he expected Tay to follow. “Come on. It’s just us.”

 

Tay slowly followed behind and soon enough she was in the Salvatore’s house. She was swept up and Stefan carried her to the couch. Tay gasped from the aching in her ribs and looked around at her friends’ faces. “What am I doing here? Why am I not at a hospital?”

 

“This is where we kept you safe for the past couple of days.” Elena explained as she led Tay to the couch where Bonnie, Caroline, and Damon were. Bonnie lept up and hugged her, her tears flowing freely.

 

“Oh.” Tay quietly replied as she sat on the couch. She sat there for a moment, lost in her thoughts when she remembered her mom. “Where’s my mom?”

 

Her friends looked at each other, questioning and talking without speaking. They looked awkward and Damon was the one who spoke. “She’s dead and all mummified with the rest of your family.”

 

“What?” Tay said as she felt weak and faint. She could vaguely hear Elena and Stefan scolding Damon for being so blunt but she didn’t pay them much mind. “Where are the bodies?”

 

“Tay I don’t think that’s a good-”

 

“I want to see them. I want to say goodbye.” Elena looked at her friend, who so wanted to believe that her family wasn’t dead. Elena agreed and she led Tay downstairs. In rows, there laid her family’s bodies. She cried at the sight of her parents’ bodies, lying there. Lifeless. Her brother had a cloth over him and she hesitated to remove it but she decided not to. She wanted to remember her brother as whole and alive. Not broken and dead.

 

“It gets easier.” Elena said from the doorway as she saw Tay crying. Tay shot her a glance but looked back at her parents.

 

“Can I have a moment alone?” She heard Elena leave and shut the door and Tay broke down in tears. She checked her mother’s pulse and found none. She could only feel the cold skin. She felt two indents on her neck and Tay moved her mother’s hair away from her neck to find two puncture wounds. Bite marks. She narrowed her eyes and wondered who killed them. Who killed her family? Why?

 

She leaned against the door and stared at her family’s bodies, her breath slow and her heartbeat even slower. Tay wanted to do something. Something her mother could appreciate, even in death. Mom always said she had the voice of an angel and that’s where Tay hoped her mother was, with the angels.

 

“When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary; When troubles come and my heart burdened be; Then, I am still and wait here in the silence, Until you come and sit awhile with me.” Tay sang softly and she let her emotions pour into the song. Her voice trembled and shook but she kept going on. Tay breathed in deeply and finished the song. She stood up and brushed off the dirt. She turned and went to close the door, shooting one last glance at her family.

 

“Goodbye.” She whispered as she shut the door. Tay breathed in deeply again then headed back upstairs. Everybody had shining eyes and the girls had let their tears fall down. “I’m going back to my house. If one of you could drive me back, that’d be great.”

 

“Yea, of course.” Elena said as she escorted Tay out the door, surprised that she was not crying anymore. She had heard Tay when she singing, the pain in her voice evident even to a deaf person. The two friends drove in silence. Tay sat there a moment and then gathered herself and before closing the door, she looked at her friend who had also experienced so much grief.

 

“Thanks, Elena.”

 

“Of course. Call me if you need anything. Goodnight Tay.” Elena smiled sadly at her friend and watched as she entered her house. Tay walked in and saw the mess that had become of her house. She sighed and walked up to her room. Thankfully it hadn’t been messed up, everything as she had left it from before. She laughed pitifully at the irony and then threw herself at her bed but grunted in the abrupt pain from the landing. Something dug at her hip and she saw her stereo remote. Tay picked it up and turned on her sad playlist.

 

She sang along and finally she looked at the clock. It was ten. Maybe it was time for bed. She walked towards her parents room, wanting nothing more than to just wear one of her dad’s tee shirts to bed but she couldn’t bring herself to open the door. She turned around and walked into her own room. She got dressed into a tank top and boxers then crawled into bed with her favorite childhood book, The Princess and the Pauper. She fell asleep to her favorite book and the soft melody of the sad songs that played in the background.

 

When Tay woke up she saw it was still dark outside. She looked at the time and saw it was three in the morning. Her body felt more healed and when she looked down at her thigh wound, it was fading away into a nice, pink scar. She started to panic at the new development but shoved those thoughts out of her mind. Not feeling the need to go back to bed, Tay journeyed downstairs and eyed the damage. She went about cleaning the kitchen first, eyeing the broken dishes, crooked cabinets, and turned over chairs. Knives were scattered around the floor and she made sure to pick those up first. Some of them had blood on them and she rinsed those off and tossed them into the trash.

 

She swept away the broken pieces of the dishes and tossed them into a trash can. Tay set the chairs into their upright positions and sighed as she looked around to see what else she could do. She went off in search of a screwdriver to fix the cabinets and by the time seven o’ clock rolled around, the kitchen was spotless. She moved on to the hallway where coats, shoes, and pictures lay scattered.

 

Tay spent the rest of the day cleaning her house, saving the living room for last. Music blared from her laptop that she carried with her throughout the house. She sang along and she felt herself become more relaxed. As the music continued playing, her sore muscles didn’t hurt as much and Tay noticed her cuts and bruises had started to fade. Weird. Somebody knocked at the door and she walked around the couch to answer the door. Tay opened the door to find Caroline there with Bonnie. “Hi guys.”

 

“Hey, we haven’t heard from you all day. We wanted to see how you were.” Bonnie greeted with a small smile.

 

“I’ve just been cleaning around the house, trying to keep myself busy.” Tay replied as they entered the house.

 

“Woah, I don’t think I’ve ever seen your house this clean.” Bonnie teased. Tay tried to smile but fortunately her friends didn’t notice. “Well, we’ve come bearing gifts.”

 

In Bonnie’s hand was Tay’s favorite ice cream and Caroline had the spoons. “Sure. Let’s go in the kitchen.”

 

Bonnie, Caroline, and Tay spent the rest of the evening together and eventually finished the tub of ice cream, even though Tay didn’t eat much. “I should go home, it’s getting late.” Bonnie concluded when she noticed Tay’s yawns.

 

“Right. Take care, Tay.” Caroline said as she and Bonnie tried to hug their friend, but Tay cringed away when she realized what they meant to do. She didn’t want anyone touching her. She just smiled and they shrugged it off as they knew she had been through a lot.

 

“Thanks guys. I’ll probably see you tomorrow I assume?” Another huge yawn finished the sentence.

 

“Of course!” Caroline replied with a smile. Tay walked them out and waved goodbye before going back to cleaning the living room. The first thing she noticed were the bloodstains and Tay gagged. She avoided looking at the stains and found a way to rearrange the furniture so it would be concealed. With a satisfied look, Tay realized she’s done with cleaning house. She sighed as she had nothing else to do to keep her mind off it. Then she came to terms that she has to eventually plan a funeral. Tay decided to do that tomorrow morning after getting a bit of sleep.

 

~~

 

Tay woke up from night terrors and breathed in deeply. She threw away the covers and rushed downstairs to look around for something to do. She spotted her laptop on the kitchen counter and she looked up the address for the funeral home. Tay went back upstairs, took a shower then threw on some random clothes. Tay drove off and pulled into the driveway and was greeted by an older middle aged woman.

 

“Hi, how are you sweetheart? I’m Christine Lovelace.” She greeted and held out a hand.

 

“Hi, nice to meet you. I’m Tay Athans.” Ms. Lovelace immediately drew the teenager into her arms and gave her condolences. “Thank you. I was hoping to arrange a viewing and all that stuff?”

 

“Of course. Why don’t we step into the parlor?” Ms. Lovelace guided Tay into the parlor and asked, “Can I get you anything to drink or eat?”

 

“No, my friends made sure that I ate.” Tay lied.

 

“That’s good. I’m glad to hear that you’re friends are taking care of you.” Ms. Lovelace seemed unsure how to carry on as she was not accustomed to having to arrange funerals with teenagers.

 

“Is three weeks from next Thursday okay?” Tay asked quietly, sensing the woman’s reservations.

 

“Of course. Are you sure you want to plan this, Tay? I’m sure you could get someone in your family to do it.” She still seemed a bit unsure about how to proceed to make plans with Tay, a young girl with a haunted look in her green eyes.

 

“I have no other family. My aunt and uncle died in a car crash two years back and they were my only other family.” Tay half-smiled and looked around the parlor while Ms. Lovelace jotted down a few notes.

 

Ms. Lovelace seemed deeply saddened by this lonely teen but amazed that Tay hadn’t yet broken down or cried. Her strength was so admirable. “I will contact you should anything change or whatnot.”

 

“Thank you, here’s my number.” Tay handed her a cell phone and a home phone. “Take care, Ms. Lovelace.”

 

“You too, sweetheart.” Ms. Lovelace gave a final hug to Tay and then Tay left. She sighed in relief, glad that was over and then headed into her car. But she didn’t drive anywhere because she didn’t know where to drive to. She didn’t want to go back home. Tay decided to go to the pool because she knew the manager and they let her have free reign of the pool.

 

Tay dashed back home to grab a suit, a towel, and an extra change of clothes then headed back out the door, headed to the pool. She knew that it was officially closed, but thankfully there was still a pool manager there. Tay set her stuff in the locker room and grabbed her towel and went into the woods that surrounded the pool. She set it down and stared out into the distance. She sighed as she stared at the sky. She was brought out of her reminiscent state by the PA system. She stood up and went back to find Steve just about to close up.

 

“Hey, do you mind if I swim today?” Tay asked as she walked up. Steve smiled at her and tossed her the keys.

 

“Sure, you know the rules.” Steve said and then headed to his car and drove off, which left Tay completely alone at the pool.

 

Tay went to the locker rooms and changed into her bathing suit then left her clothes on a chair that she had to unfold. When she saw the water, Tay immediately had a flashback to when they dunked her underwater to torture her. She back away from the edge and regained control of her breath as she willed her body to calm down. She jumped into the freezing water and welcomed the awakening sensation that rolled over her body. She came up for air and slicked back her hair away from her face. She breathed and then dove back into the water to swim laps.

 

Tay swam for hours, her body exhausted but her mind occupied and that was what mattered. She kept practicing her strokes; freestyle, breast, butterfly, and back. Her ribs ached in protest so she stopped for a moment and lept out, drying herself off as she walked to the fountain to get a drink. Her body ached but it felt amazing to be back in the water. She hadn’t had the chance to swim freely in a while and she knew it had taken a toll on her body. Not wanting to be away from the water any longer, she walked back and threw her towel back onto the chair.

 

Tay gracefully walked over to the deep end and walked up to the diving board. She breathed in a deep breath and then ran across the board, readying herself to dive off. Her arms gathered by the sides of her head with her arms extended. She fell into the water and came up a couple yards away. She swam over to the sides and pulled herself up. Tay went back to the diving board and did a cannonball, repeating this process over and over with multiple dives and tricks until it was one in the afternoon.

 

Tay stood by the edge of the pool, her hands on her hip and her breaths coming and going as labored. She stood there trying to catch her breath and then sat by the edge, her feet dangling in the water. She decided to finally head back to the house when she heard metal creak. She stopped in her tracks and looked around, seeing no one.

 

Her heartbeat was erratic and she quietly walked over to her towel and clothes. She grabbed them and walked to the changing room. She hurriedly changed and then half-sprinted to her car. She locked up the pool and then jumped in her car with her hair dripping everywhere. Her car purred to life and smoothly exited the parking lot.

 

Tay pulled up to her driveway, still seeing her parents cars as well as Sy’s. She sighed and turned off the ignition. She sat there for a moment, her head supported by her hand as she convinced herself to go into the house. Tay gathered her clothes and wet towel and headed up the porch stairs. She jumped up when she saw Sy standing there. She rubbed her eyes and when she refocused again, he was gone.

 

Freaked out, she headed into her home and hung up her towel then let her dripping bathing suit to dry in the bathtub. Tay walked into her room and changed into drier clothes. She was exhausted but she couldn’t bring herself to sleep so she went to her window seat and opened the curtains. Moonlight spilled into her otherwise dark room and she sat there for a while, she just admired the night sky and the moon and the stars. After she snapped herself out of that mental state, she picked up her book, East of Eden by John Steinbeck, and read until morning.


	6. Chapter 6

Tay’s alarm clock buzzed and she jerked her head out her book and ran across her room. She slammed her hand down onto the alarm to stop the noise and she waited until her heart calmed down. Tay hoped the noise didn’t awake anyone but then she realized. There was nobody else to awaken. The thought brought tears to her eyes and she blinked, which caused them to fall down her cheeks. She allowed herself to wallow in her family’s death and let it consume her and she cried until her head pounded and there were no more tears to shed.

 

“I’m strong. I will get through this.” Tay thought to herself and she stood up, brushed her hands against the sides of her jeans, and sighed.

 

The words comforted her and she wiped away her tears. She headed downstairs and looked in the fridge, searched for something appetizing, but found nothing. Tay forced herself to drink some water so she wouldn’t faint on her run later but found the silence that rang throughout the house oddly deafening. She went back upstairs and got changed to go on a run. She decided against a tank top and decided to run in a sports bra and some shorts. Tay shrugged and reasoned that she would be running in the forest alone for most of the time anyway so what would it matter if she didn’t have a proper shirt on?

 

Tay laced up her running shoes and grabbed another quick drink of water before she filled up a water bottle. She sighed and left the door unlocked as she left. She did her usual stretches and started into a jog. She slowed down when she went down the hill then sped up as she turned into the forest, her feet flew on the forest ground.

 

Leaves crunched beneath her feet and she had already worked up a sweat as she approached the halfway mark to the waterfall. She slowed down her speed by a bit and slowly saw the waterfall come into view. She stopped altogether and admired the view. She took a sip of water and then made her slow ascent up the hill. Tay’s breath became labored and she stopped for a moment to drink more water. The heat of the day was beginning to descend upon her as she continued. It was probably noon by now and she was halfway up the mountainous hill.

 

Tay continued on and her foot twisted on a loose rock; she tripped and skinned her knee on the rocks in front of her. She bent down to inspect the damage. She grimaced as she saw the deep gash in her leg but wiped away the blood to keep running. She was going to make it to the top, whether it killed her or not.

 

After half an hour of starting and stopping for water, Tay finally made it to the top. She raised her arms in a mock victory and walked around to calm her heart. She drank water as she did so then sat down to enjoy the view. She guessed it was about three in the afternoon by now so she sat and stared. The sun moved ever so surely but slowly across the sky and people bustled about in the town. The grass itched Tay’s legs but she tried not to pay it any mind.

 

She found herself reminiscent about her memories with her family and while although it brought tears to her eyes, they were happy tears. Memories of her and her family at the park, swinging on the swing set and having picnics. At the beach house and playing Corn Hole. At home playing board games, yelling at one another when they suspected each other of cheating.

 

Tay shifted position and scraped her hand against her injury. She let out a hiss of pain and looked down to inspect it. Dried blood trailed down her leg and multiple lacerations raced across her skin and she rolled her eyes. She licked her hand and tried to wipe off the blood but it took a while. She gave up after a while and let it be. Tay leaned back and laid on the grass, her arms crossed underneath her head and her long legs stretched out in front of her.

 

Tay let out a breath of relief and admired the sunset that cast itself over the town. She decided it was best to go now before she lost the light completely and she forced herself up. She drank from her almost empty water bottle and adjusted her sports bra, wiping away traces of grass blades and smudges of dirt from her stomach. She stretched and made her descent down the hill. Tay eyed the rocks and everything with a wary look and by the time it was dark had finally made it to the bottom. The forest sure was creepier without the light.

 

Tay hesitated before she started to walk, the sky dark but the stars and the moon helped illuminate the forest. She heard a branch snap in the distance and she froze to listen for another sign of movement. She was sure she had only heard an animal but she didn’t want to take any chances. When there was no sign of movement otherwise, she continued to walk and kept her eyes on the forest floor then eventually made it out and walked up to her house. When the house came into view, she saw someone on her porch.

 

Tay walked more slowly, more quietly as she approached the house . She saw he or she wasn’t moving and realized he or she had fallen asleep, as he or she was probably waiting for her. Tay walked up the porch steps as quietly as she could but suddenly she dangled over the porch by a vicious grip on her throat. She looked up and saw Stefan with the same mask on that the man had; protruding veins under the blackened eyes with fangs. She started to scream and panic as she studied his face. Her heart rate climbed higher and higher as she became even more terrified of her friend who held her by the throat. Tay struggled for air and was lifted up onto the porch as Stefan let go of her throat. Tay gasped for air as she stood on the porch. Tay scrambled backwards as Stefan neared her; he quickly apologized for the mistake and she gestured for him to stop talking. Her mind raced at the sight before her but she couldn’t comprehend it and she didn’t want to. Why did Stefan have the same mask as those other vile men? Why did he not have it now?

 

She stood up and squared her shoulders, an attempt to make herself look more bold and confident, while on the inside, she was terrified for her life. “What was that for?” She said angrily as she rubbed her throat as an attempt to relax her muscles.

 

“I thought you were an intruder.” Stefan smiled sheepishly and Tay studied him. Questions raced through her mind.

 

“Yea, an intruder with a key. Well, I’m glad someone so strong and quick is protecting my house.” Tay said as she opened the door and continued on as she dumped her keys in the bowl by the door and brushed off more grass on her arms. “You want a drink? Stefan?”

 

“Uh, aren’t you going to invite me in?” He asked. Tay tilted her head.

 

“You can come in, Stefan.” Tay said slowly. He came in and she was confused as heck. “You want to explain that?”

 

“Maybe not now. You’ve been through a lot.”

 

“What are you not telling me Stefan?” Tay got a lot angrier as she walked closer to Stefan. He took a step back as she glowered at him. She crossed her arms as she yelled at him.

 

Stefan bit his lip and Tay gave him a scowl. “Are you sure you want to know the truth?”

 

“Yes. My family’s dead for reasons that I don’t even know and some clarity in my life would be nice for change.” She huffed her breath and Stefan gestured for Tay to sit down. She wanted to refuse but sat down anyway.

 

“Well, it’s a bit complex…” Stefan trailed off and gathered his thoughts into coherent sentences. “I’m just going to rip off the bandage. I’m a vampire.”

 

Tay waited for Stefan to smile and laugh but it never came. “You’re serious? They actually exist?”

 

She leaned back in her seat and let out a sigh. “Yes, they do. I’m one as is Damon and Chris.”

 

“So Bonnie, April, Matt, Elena, and Tyler are basically my only normal human friends now?” Tay asked. Stefan opened his mouth then closed it, as if he was deciding against saying something. “What?”

 

“Well, Bonnie’s a witch and Caroline’s a vampire. Tyler’s a werewolf, sort of.” Tay nodded her head. “My brother and I turned in 1864 by Katerina Petrova. She compelled us to love her and strung us along but at the time neither of us minded. Now, Damon is looking for her because he’s still loved her all these years but I couldn't care less.”

 

“Oh.” Tay sat there for a moment then asked, “What happened to your face back there on the porch?”

 

“Oh, that happens when I’m angry or thirsty or exposed to blood. It’s my vampire face pretty much.”

 

“A vampire tortured me. Two actually. I always thought it was a mask but I guess it was just his face. So I guess a vampire killed my family.” Tay sat back and looked at Stefan with a wary glance. “So I have to invite vampires into my house?”

 

“Yea otherwise they can’t come in.” Stefan provided. “Are you okay?”

 

“No, but I will be. Did you and Damon and Chris kill the vampires?” She said as she referred to her kidnapping and torturing session. Stefan nodded and Tay replied, “Thank you Stefan. I don’t mean to be rude but I’m kind of tired and worn out.”

 

“Of course. I understand.” Stefan stood up and let himself out. She watched him speed away and she closed the door softly. Vampires. She banged her head against the door and successfully ended up giving her a bruise and a headache.

 

“Ugh.” Tay walked into the kitchen to get some aspirin from the medicine cabinet. She eyed the wine fridge. She wanted so badly to drown her sorrows and pain in her dad’s favorite bourbon but she hated alcohol. “Hm.”

 

She took out the bottle but didn’t take out a glass. Tay sat down at the island and stared at the glass until the temptation went away. But the need to taste the bourbon and be closer to her father overpowered her disapproval of alcohol and she poured herself some. Tay swirled it around before sipping it. After the first glass, she started to feel a buzz. She continued to drink and stopped counting after the fourth glass. Tay stood up and stumbled, the floor slanting and the walls moving.

 

Someone knocked at the door and she struggled to make it to the door. “Just a moment!”

 

Tay slurred out as she stumbled and tripped over her feet. She finally made it to the door and fumbled for the doorknob. She managed to get it open and she saw a familiar man but she couldn’t place the name to the face. “Uh, can I help you?”

 

“Tay, are you drunk?” The man asked. Tay hiccuped and laughed. She tried to walk back to the kitchen where her glass awaited her but tripped over her feet. “Let’s get you to bed.”

 

“No, stay away.” Tay said with a childlike frown.

 

“It’s just me. Alaric Saltzman? Bonnie sent me to check on you.”

 

“My history teacher?” Tay looked at the concerned man and realized she was only in a sports bra and running shorts. “No thanks. I can handle it myself.”

 

“Drinking doesn’t help the situation.” Alaric said after he gathered the drunk girl in his arms and put her on the living room couch. She struggled weakly but eventually she was covered in blankets and passed out on the couch. “Oh, Tay.”

 

He stayed with her during the night and when she started to awaken, he heard her groan. “Ugh.”

 

“Here take this.”

 

“Mr. Saltzman? What are you doing in my house?” Tay questioned as she took the aspirin from his hand. He offered her a cup of coffee but she declined it because she hated coffee. Tay gathered the blankets around her as she walked to the kitchen and tried to ignore the pounding in her head.

 

“Bonnie sent me to check on you. She was worried about you.”

 

“Of course. Thanks, Mr. Saltzman.” Tay said before she downed the pill with a glass of water.

 

“Call me Ric.”

 

“Thanks Ric. Ugh, what happened last night?”

 

“I came around ten last night and you were very, very drunk.” He gave Tay an amused smile as she buried her hands in her head and groaned from embarrassment. “I made you sleep on the couch and stayed with you so you wouldn’t injure yourself.”

 

“Oh, god, I’m so sorry. Did I say anything really bad?”

 

“No not at all.” He assured her. “How are you holding up?”

 

“Apparently not that well. I’m trying to just keep myself busy. Speaking of which, what time is it?”

 

“Uh, six in the morning.” He replied as she sighed.

 

“I’ve got work in an hour. I’ll be okay now, thanks again Rick.”

 

“No problem. Call me if you need anything.” Rick left his number on the counter and left. Tay wanted to get out of her clothes so she slowly made her way up the stairs and stripped down to step into the shower. She jumped back from the water as it stung her cuts.

 

“Geez!” She exclaimed as she tried to slowly step back in. Blood mixed in with the water, which turned the water pink. “Gross.”

 

She carefully took a cloth and wiped away the blood that had dried on her body. She found the stab wound on her thigh and it looked like it would scar. Tay let a few tears out as she pulled at the skin and found a few pieces of metal in her arms and legs. Her ribs were black and blue and she wanted to go to the hospital but she decided against it. That would only lead to boring hours to where she was left alone in her thoughts.

 

Tay washed her hair and body then stepped out of the bathroom. She wrapped a towel around her body but caught a glimpse of something across her stomach as she did so. She unwrapped the towel and started the word that was carved into her stomach. S-I-R-E-N.

 

“Holy…” Tay said as she stared at the word. She grabbed her towel and quickly covered the mark. She went to her room and without looking at herself in the mirror she threw on her clothes, making sure her stomach was well covered. She dressed in black as she headed out the door with almost dry hair and some natural makeup on.

 

Tay walked around to kill time when she started to read. When she looked up at the clock, she realized that she’d be late for her shift at the grill if she waited any longer. Tay was thankful that she already packed her uniform in the bag and so she sped to work. She ducked in and sees Matt. “Hey Matt.”

 

“Tay. I didn’t expect you here today.”

 

“I just want to keep myself busy. Don’t tell me you’ve found someone to replace me?” Tay said with a teasing smile.

 

“Of course not. If you want to work, I’m not going to stop you.” He reached behind the bar and tossed Tay her black apron. She went around back and changed into her uniform then situated herself at the bar. She stayed and served until Matt told her the grill was closing. “You should get home.”

 

“Yea. Thanks Matt. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Tay walked out into the dark night and headed over to her car. She decided to go to the funeral home to plan a more in depth funeral. She knocked on the door and was greeted by Ms. Lovelace. “Hi, Ms. Lovelace. How are you?”

 

“I’m good. And yourself?”

 

“I’m okay. I came to plan more about the service.” The two women discussed it in the parlor. “The flowers need to be white lilies with purples snapdragons. Also, if you could arrange for a piano to be there that’d be great. It will be a sort of opening viewing. My mother and father’s casket will be open but not my brother’s.”

 

“I’m so sorry that you have to plan this darling.” Ms. Lovelace apologized as Tay left.

 

“Thank you for helping.” Damon spotted her as she left and caught up to her.

 

“How ya holding up kid?” Damon asked as they walked out. Tay gave him a look.

 

“I’m fine.” Damon heard her heartbeat speed up and Tay continued to walk. “Thanks Damon. For saving me.”

 

“I can’t resist damsels in distress.” He joked and Tay rolled her eyes.

 

“Goodnight Damon.” She said as she got in her car and headed home. Silence greeted her and she went up to her room. She sat on the bed for a while, trying to figure out what she should do. She turned on her radio and sang along at the top of her lungs. Normally she would have to worry about waking anybody at the hour of one in the morning but there was nobody left to bother. She changed into her pajamas and grabbed East of Eden, her book. 

 

“All great and precious things are lonely.” She read and she laughed at the irony. Tay threw her book down and looked around her room. She spent the better part of two hours cleaning her room. It was almost five and she was tired but she didn’t want to sleep, terrified that her nightmares will come back.

 

Tay went down to the living room and eyed the TV but then thought of her piano in the dining room. She walked over and opened the lid. The gleaming ivory keys greeted her and Tay pulled out sheet music from the piano bench. She eyed the music and warmed up as she ran her fingers across the keys when she played all of her scales. Then she played her repertoire of songs, from her earliest songs when she was six to her latest songs.

 

The classical soothed her skin and she looked down at her fingers and saw the cuts seemed to heal themselves. She stared at them in amazement and stopped playing. The cuts stop healing. Tay started to play again and the cuts started to heal again. “What the…”

 

Is she a vampire? Some other supernatural creature? Who could possibly heal with music? She wanted to go to Stefan but it was still early in the morning. She sighed. Well, she heard the Lockwoods were going to host a masquerade ball tonight so Tay decided to spend all day getting herself ready for that.

 

Tay walked to her closet upstairs and eyed the dresses she already had. She pulled them all out and laid them on her bed, trying to eliminate them just by judging. She decided on an elegant dark wine red dress that fell to the floor. Tay stood in front of the huge mirror in her mom’s room and felt a hand on her shoulder. Tay turned around but saw no one. “Mom?”

 

Nothing happened. Tay went back to smoothing down her dress. The fabric trailed along the floor so she decided to grab a pair of black stilettos from her closet. Perfect. The top of the dress was a halter so she didn’t want to wear a necklace with it. Tay knew her mom had a pair of gold knot earrings that would look pretty so she went back to her mom’s room and looked around for her jewelry box.

 

When she opened the box, Fur Elise started playing as Tay dug around for the earrings. She looked in the mirror and decided to strip down and take a shower. She laid the dress and earrings on the bed and hopped in the shower, taking more time with scrubbing up and shaving.

 

“Ugh, I hate having long legs. There’s so much more to shave.” Tay thought to herself as she bent down to shave. Forty-five minutes later she was out of the shower and she walked around her house in a bra, panties, and silk robe. She grabbed a water bottle and realized she hadn’t eaten since Bonnie and Caroline came over two nights ago with ice cream. Tay decided to go to the grill for a salad, maybe she’d invite Caroline to go with her.

 

“Hey Caroline.” Tay greeted. “Are you busy later? Oh, you are. It’s fine. I just wanted to see if you wanted to get lunch at the grill. It’s fine, really. Bye.”

 

Tay hung up, bit her lip, looked at the time, and decided to get dressed then head to the grill. She went up to her room, eyed her closet before she put on shorts and a tank top, her personal uniform. After she threw random stuff in a purse, Tay headed out the door. She drove over to the grill and sat down at the table. Her stomach grumbled as she waited for Matt to take her order.

 

She caught his eye and he came over with a smile. “Hey, Tay. What can I get you?”

 

“Can I have a grilled chicken salad? No dressing, and a glass of water?” Tay ordered and Matt went off to get it. Tay felt awkward as she sat there alone. She fiddled with her silverware and got up to talk to Matt. “Hey, can I have it in a to-go box?”

 

“Sure no problem.” And fifteen minutes later after picking up a mask, Tay headed home and sat at her kitchen table and ate alone. She ate most of the salad and pushed the tomatoes around the box. Tay stood up and put the box in the fridge then called Elena but she didn’t answer. Then Bonnie but she didn’t answer.

 

“Well, I guess my friends are just too busy.” Tay said to herself as she walked upstairs. She eyed her laid-out dress then checked the time. It was one o’ clock. Well time to get ready. Tay grabbed her stereo remote and sad music blared. “Oh, no no no. Happy music.” Tay walked over and changed the playlist.

 

She nodded her head to the beat and danced around as she striped down to her bra and underwear. Tay took the dresser off the hanger and studied it as she put it on. Unfortunately she’ll have to twist her arms in a weird way to get the zipper all the way up. When it’s zipped she saw that the top hugged her chest and wrapped around her torso as it ended with a black ribbon around her waist, which cinched it in to the smallest setting possible.

 

Tay grabbed the earrings and put them in while she tried to decide what to do with her hair. She twirled her long, straight, brown hair around her finger and decided to pull it back with a braid that will go around her head like a headband and will curl it. She set about doing that and sings along. As she sang she saw the cuts disappearing.

 

“I’ll have to ask Stefan about that.” She reminded herself as she curled the last part of her hair. Tay slipped on her heels and looked at the time, and it was time to go. She grabbed a clutch and dropped her phone, lip gloss, mascara, eyeliner, ear buds, and keys into it which filled it completely. “Let’s have some fun tonight.”


	7. Chapter 7

Tay pulled up to the Lockwood Manor and she laughed when she saw the flames tossed around in the air by the fire jugglers in the yard. She parked her car and stepped out. Her heels crackled against the gravel on the pavement and Tay pulled out her mask, a lacy black mask that curled around her cheekbones. Her green eyes pierced out of the holes and glimmered by the firelight. She adjusted the halter on her neck before she sighed and walked toward the massive house. People walked across the yard into the house and Tay followed them.

 

Her heels clicked and punctuated her every step. She stepped into the house and spotted a waiter that walked around with flutes of alcohol. Tay stayed away from them because she did not want to end up like two nights before. She saw Elena with Stefan and she walked up to them but as soon as she reached them, they went to the dance floor. Tay sighed and walked over to the food table. The whole point of going was to finally talk to her friends.

 

She could feel herself losing that happiness phase and sinking further into a more depressing state. She saw Tyler and some girls dancing in the house but she had a feeling no one was supposed to be in the house so she didn’t join them. Tay sighed as she realized she was all alone. Now she didn’t even have her friends. She went over to the drinks and grabbed a whiskey bottle and sat on the stairs that lead back to the house. Screw being sober. Just as she was about to take a sip, someone grabbed the bottle. “Hey!”

 

“I heard what happened last time you started to drink. Let’s not have a repeat.” Tay looked up to see Bonnie standing above her. “I thought you hated alcohol.”

 

“That was before I realized what I was missing out on.” Bonnie’s phone buzzed; she gave Tay a pleading look and with her eyes asked if she could go. “Yea, sure go ahead. I’ll be fine.”

 

“Thanks Tay. I’ll talk to you later.” Bonnie left but with the bottle of whiskey and ultimately, Tay was back to sitting on the stairs by herself. Then she remembered that she wanted to talk to Stefan about healing with music. God, that sounded crazy to her own ears.

 

She walked around until she saw Stefan walk up the stairs inside the house. Tay went inside to follow him up and saw him talk to Damon with Elena. Then Damon stabbed Elena in the arm with a… stake? “No!”

 

Tay ran up the stairs and into the room. Damon held her back and tried to push her out of the room but something hit her face, like glass. She couldn’t leave. Tay hit the invisible boundary, confused as possible and heard Damon exclaim, “What the hell? Stefan, Bonnie messed up her witch-y spell. Humans are supposed to leave the room.”

 

Elena laughed cruelly. Tay shot her friend a confused look and looked at her like she was crazy. Elena had a different, maniacal almost, look in her eye and Tay suddenly felt uncomfortable. She raised an eyebrow and asked, “Uh, Elena are you okay?”

 

Stefan touched Tay’s arm, gently telling her not to take a step further, while Elena sat on the couch in front of them. “That’s Katherine, the first Petrova doppelganger.”

 

“Oh. Wait, what do you mean humans are supposed to be able to leave the room, Damon? I am human.” Tay asked, frustrated and confused and angry.

 

Katherine smiled and taunted the brothers as she played with the fringe on a blanket. “I bet I could tell you.”

 

“We don’t want any of your lies Katherine.” Damon said angrily.

 

“You may not, but she does. Can’t you hear her heart? It’s fluttering in anticipation for what I’m about to say.” Katherine smiled with an evil gleam in her eyes. “She’s a siren.”

 

“Seriously? That’s the best you can come up with? Sirens aren't even real.” Damon said with an arrogant smile but Tay studied at Katherine. How could she know that? Of all the things she could pick, why a siren?

 

“Well, not yet. But when she awakens she will be.” When she awakens… why does that sound familiar? “She’s the last one. Plus if you don’t believe me, you can see what she has written on her stomach. Oops, I mean carved into her flesh on her stomach. Or maybe you can't 'cause all her injuries are invisible to you guys.”

 

A tall black woman entered the room suddenly and handed over a shiny rock. What the hell? They talk, nothing that seems all that important to Tay when suddenly Katherine fell to the floor, gasping for air. The rock fell from her hand and Tay rushes over but once again, Damon held her back. He held her waist tightly and Tay grimaced and gasped from the pain that shot from her ribs.

 

“Let her go Damon.” Stefan warned and Tay fell to her knees next to Katherine, holding her ribs. “Are you okay?”

 

“I’ll be fine. Just get me downstairs by the music.” Stefan began to question when Tay interrupted, “Do it!”

 

Stefan carried her downstairs and put her on the steps to listen to the stereo. As she sings along she felt her ribs start to knit themselves together. She put her chin in her hand while she waited for them to heal completely. “What was Katherine talking about when she said something about your stomach?”

 

“It’s nothing Stefan. Don’t worry about it.” Stefan gave her a look. “She was talking about a cut that’s on my stomach, that’s all. Leave it alone Stefan.”

 

“We’ll talk about this later.” Stefan said and then he left to help Damon. Tay decided to head home. She got up and reached for her clutch next to her. Then Tay showed herself out, letting a lone tear escape from the edge of her mask. She sat in her car and tore off her mask, leaving it in the dirt on the road. Tay revved up her engine and tore out of the driveway, careful not to hit anyone on her way out. Someone called and she leaned over to open her clutch while checking the road every other second.

 

“Hello? Hey Bonnie. I’m driving so it can’t take long. Oh, yea I’m fine. Stefan’s just worrying about nothing. It’s nothing Bonnie. Look, we can all talk about this later okay? Fine, tell Stefan I’ll be there. Bye.” Tay hung up and threw her phone on the seat next to her. She made her way home and saw Caroline on her porch.

 

Tay walked up and Caroline smiled at her. “Hey, how are you?”

 

“Exhausted. I haven’t been sleeping all that great since I’ve been back.”

 

“When’s the last time you slept?” She asked, concerned as they walked into Tay’s house. “Be honest with me, Tay.”

 

“Uhm, two nights ago when I passed out drunk with Ric. God, I hope I never have to say that again.” Tay smiled sheepishly as she bent down to take off her heels. “Please make yourself comfortable. So why were you on my porch?”

 

“Stefan sent me to make sure you were okay.”

 

“Aw, well that’s nice of him but I’m fine. Do you wanna sleep over since you’re already here? I’d hate for you to walk home alone.” Tay said as she gathered her shoes into one hand.

 

“Sure, let me just tell my mom.” Caroline went off to call her mom and Tay went upstairs to get changed for bed. She noticed her room was extremely messy so she scrambled around to make sure that everything was at least hidden in her closet or put away. “Last minute clean up, Tay?”

 

“Damn, you caught me.” Tay said with a smile. “What’d your mom say?”

 

“She didn’t answer. She’s been trying to find Aimee’s body.” Oh, right. “But that’s okay. She wouldn’t care anyway.”

 

“I’m sure she cares, Caroline. Here you can borrow some of my clothes for tonight and hang your dress in my closet.” Tay handed her a pair of shorts and a big tee shirt. “I’ll be in my parent's bedroom so you can use mine.”

 

Tay grabbed her pajamas and then headed out to change. Tay let out her hair and watched as it fell into waves down her back. She bent her arms awkwardly to unzip her dress and then let the silky material pool around her feet. She stepped out of it and quickly took off her bra and slipped into her pajamas. When Tay returned her mother’s earrings back to her jewelry box, she let Fur Elise play through its entirety before she closed it.

 

She went back to her room to find Caroline with her dress hung up in the closet. Tay walked over and grabbed a hanger as well while she threw her other things into the laundry hamper. She secured the straps and then turned to Caroline who sat on her bed. Tay ran over like a kid and jumped on the bed, which caused Caroline to laugh.

 

“Come on, don’t be so shy. Just talk to me.” Tay nudged her friend as Caroline grabbed a pillow to hug. “We can talk about anything you want, well mostly anything.”

 

The two friends spent the night talking and eventually Caroline fell asleep but Tay was still unable to sleep. Tay left the bed, grabbed a blanket, and wandered around the house. She looked at the pictures hanging on the walls and she let herself cry on the couch but stopped when she heard Caroline snoring softly. Not wanting to wake her friend, she went out to the porch, curled her silk robe closer to her body, and settled herself on the swing bench.

 

Tay sat down, one leg bent and on the seat but the other dragged along the wooden porch as she pushed herself back and forth. She looked out at the wooded area surrounding her house and tried to think back to what happened tonight. First, all of her friends ditch her then Tay had to find out that they all were involved in trying to kill Katherine. Katherine: the girl who somehow figured out what Tay was before Tay did, who revealed it to the entire group present, but failed to elaborate on it.

 

Tay was a siren, at least that’s what Katherine said and it lined up with the carvings on her stomach. Tay slipped a hand in her robe and absently traced the scabs and scars that marred her stomach. A siren. What was a siren? What made a siren? What did they do? Were her parents sirens? Was that why her family was killed? What did the man mean by awakened? What did Katherine mean by awakened? How did Katherine know that about her family, about her? Who could she ask for help now? How is it that she was the last one? Why didn’t vampire blood heal her like it healed others?

 

All the questions swam around in her head on an endless cycle and Tay gripped the sides of her head as if to ease the pain. She sighed and bit her lip, trying to come up with the answers on her own but failing to. She couldn’t wait to meet Stefan in the morning to talk about it.

 

Tay went back inside and closed the door softly behind her. She checked on Caroline to make sure she was still asleep and grabbed her book to read outside while the sun was rising. Tay grabbed her glasses and sat on the porch. She could felt someone’s eyes on her and she looked up then scanned the forest edge and monitored any signs of movement but saw none. Tay shrugged it off and went back to reading. She was hunched over and had her thumbnail in her mouth as her glasses slipped down the bridge of her nose.

 

Someone opened the screen door and she saw Caroline standing there with a panicked face. “Geez you scared me. I thought you had been kidnapped.”

 

“Sorry, Care, didn’t mean to scare you.” Caroline’s face softened when she saw her friend who sat there peacefully.

 

“Did you sleep at all last night?” Tay shook her head slowly and Caroline’s face fell. “What am I going to do with you? Not sleeping isn’t healthy Tay.”

 

“I know. I just don’t want to sleep.” That was a lie. She wanted to sleep so badly; she could feel her body drained of energy as she continued to push herself and not eating anything for extended periods of time were starting to take its toll on her. “I’m okay Caroline. Really, I am.”

 

“Okay, well, I need to get back home ‘cause Damon needs to talk to me but I will scold you later at Stefan’s house okay?”

 

“Sure.” She watched Caroline leave and she went back to reading. The summer heat eventually forced her to go inside and she checked the time. Damn, she was going to be late meeting Stefan at his house. She hurriedly threw some shoes on and went to his house in her pajamas. She opened the door and found everyone with stressed out faces on. “What’d I miss?”

 

“Elena’s missing and somewhere in the middle of nowhere.” Damon provided and soon enough Stefan called Elena but to no avail. The Salvatore brothers decided to go on a trip to save Elena with the help of some of Rick’s personal weapons. While they were gone, Rick filled her in on everything that’d happened so far and Tay soaked it in without a question but her previous questions about who she is, or rather what she is, remain unanswered.

 

“So I guess it’s just you, me, and Bonnie?” Tay asked Rick.

 

“Actually, I have to take care of Jenna since the whole knife incident but I’ll catch up with you two later.” Rick said before he packed up and left. Tay turned to Bonnie but she gave a sad smile that said she would leave as well.

 

“Jeremy wants me to practice some magic at his house.”

 

“Right, of course.” Bonnie headed towards the door and just as it closed, Tay said, “And goodbye friends.”

 

She thought to go to Caroline and Tyler so she went to school. She handed the office an excuse note and then went off to class. The day went by and she continued to see the posters and the gifts for Sarah and Aimee, the girls who had been killed during the night of the masquerade ball at the Lockwood’s house. The day dragged by and by the time school was over her brain was exhausted and her backpack was heavier with more homework. She went to the library and started her homework.

 

Tay spent at least three hours doing homework, even getting ahead and doing future assignments that weren’t due for a while. She finally admitted to herself that she had to go home but when she looked around at all the books she decided to look around and check a few out since she had the feeling she would be alone for a while. Tay pulled out a few good looking books and went to checkout. On her way out she bumped into someone.

 

“Oops! I’m so sorry. Are you okay?” Tay asked as she eyed the familiar man.

 

“Yea, thanks. I’m fine.” The man smiled and went about his day. Tay was just glad she didn’t hurt him so she went to her car and dumped her stuff in the seat next to her. She drove home and got out of her car. She dug around in her purse for her house key as she walked up the house. She finally got the stupid key and unlocked the door.

 

Tay saw it was a bit of a mess in the kitchen so she cleaned that up after she set her books down on the counter and then went up to her messy room. Tay cleaned her room and with a heavy sigh sat on her bed. She felt her phone buzz and heard it ring so she picked up the call. “Hello? Oh, hi Ms. Lovelace. Thank you for letting me know. Okay, goodbye. Have a nice night.”

 

Tay hung up the phone and checked the date. Only three more weeks till the funeral. She didn’t know if she was supposed to make invitations or what. Did one send invitations to a funeral? And if so, what would she write? She sighed and then put her phone on her bedside table. It would have to wait till later. She checked the time and realized it was only eight and she hadn’t eaten dinner yet. Tay went downstairs and grabbed her leftover salad from her last lunch. She quickly wolfed it down and had a glass of milk. She looked in the medicine cabinet and found what she was looking for. Sleeping pills. She shook one out and took it with her milk then went back upstairs to change into comfy clothes and promptly fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

The alarm clock buzzed and let Tay know that her life must go on and that she has school. She sat up and walked across the room to turn off her alarm clock and her head felt foggy from the sleeping pills. Tay resolved not to take those pills anymore unless it was absolutely necessary although her body felt so much more relaxed. Tay, as she stood there looking around her room, tried to think of what day it was. Wednesday? Monday? Nothing was straight in her head so she had to look on her phone and realized it was only Tuesday. School. Great.

 

She went to the bathroom to wash her face. Tay gave herself a long look in the mirror. Dark circles hovered beneath her eyes that looked empty, her eyes looked a bit sunken in as well. She frowned and settled on making herself healthier, which meant she had to force herself to sleep and eat. Speaking of eating, Tay bet that she lost weight and she went to her scale and stepped on. As the numbers went up and down, she could already tell that she lost three pounds. Tay frowned again as she knew it was only healthy to lose one or two pounds a week, not three pounds in four days.

 

She stepped off and went back to her room and grabbed jeans, a flowy tank top, and a pair of ankle boots with a bit of heel. She looked in the mirror and decided she looked good and then saw her cuts that hadn’t yet been healed. Tay ignored them and practiced smiling in the mirror. It didn’t look right. She did it over and over again until her cheekbones hurt then she gave up. Tay checked the time and realized it should be about time to leave. She quickly brushed her teeth and then turned off her music. Grabbing her backpack, she headed out the door and locked it behind her.

 

She got into her car and realized she hadn’t heard from her friends within the past twenty four hours. Tay sighed and then pulled out of the driveway. As she left her house she called Elena and thankfully she picked up. “Hey Elena. I just wanted to make sure you’re alright. Oh, okay. I’ll see you guys at school then.”

 

Tay hung up and drove to the school then somehow snagged a spot in the front. She got out and walked to the other side to get her books and bag. She saw Matt and Tyler goof off in the yard then saw Stefan and Elena walk in, hand in hand. Tay decided to leave them alone for a while then she headed to class, history with Rick, or Mr. Saltzman. She was one of the first few that sat there silently and waited for the bell to ring and signal the beginning of class.

 

Tay took out her history book and started to take notes on the chapter that was two ahead from what they were currently doing. “Did you forget to take notes, Miss Athans?”

 

Tay looked up and saw Rick look at her, amused. “No, I’m starting the chapter on the Colombian Exchange.”

 

Rick raised his eyebrows and leaned back in his chair. “Talk to me after class, okay?”

 

Tay nodded, a tad confused, as the bell rang and students crawled into the classroom. Stefan and Elena saw behind her with Bonnie as well. They all smiled at her as they walked past and Tay said to Elena, “Welcome back. Are you okay?”

 

“Yea.” Clearly she wasn’t but before she could bother Elena anymore, Rick started to teach so she turned around and had her notes out to make sure she hadn’t missed anything. First period sped by but every other class except her chorus class and piano class dragged on.

 

Tay walked to her locker and grabbed all of her textbooks, which weighed her arms and back down as she carried some in her backpack and then some in her arms. She slowly made her way back to her car and dumped all of the books in the backseat. The leather seats sank under the heavy weight and Tay walked to the front of her car. She still hadn’t talked to Stefan or anyone else about the whole siren thing yet and she started to get antsy and a bit frustrated about it.

 

Tay headed to the grill for an afternoon shift and when it rolled around to dinner time she ordered something and sat behind the bar as she ate. “Don’t you look lonely and depressed?”

 

She looked up to see Rick at the bar. “Nice to see you too, Rick. Can I get you anything?”

 

“No, you’re on your break.”

 

“Are you sure? I don’t mind, it won’t take but a second.” Then he conceded and ordered a bourbon, which he sure loved. “Oh, I forgot to talk to you after class. Sorry, my brain has been missing from my head lately.”

 

“I understand. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Stefan said that you had something to talk about?” Rick mentioned as he sipped his drink.

 

“Yea, I do. I just don’t think this is the best place to talk about it.” Tay said after she cast a nervous glance around the room before she bit into her sandwich. “Plus, I doubt you could answer any of my questions. I’m sure the Salvatores have some ancient books or something about my… questions.”

 

Rick nodded and asked, “Are you planning on meeting up with everybody soon?”

 

“Well, we planned to yesterday at the Stefan’s house but then everybody went off doing there own thing.” She said with sad smile and a half-hearted shrug. Rick studied her and tried to think of something to say next but Tay spoke first. “So, are you going to sing tomorrow at open mike night at the grill tomorrow?”

 

“I think I’ll pass.” Rick grinned. “Are you? I’ve heard that you have an amazing voice.”

 

“Oh, no. I love singing but it’s just something about singing in front of people that makes me want to faint.” Tay said immediately when she put her hands up as if not to touch the subject. “But I hate being afraid of singing of people. I want nothing more than to just… get up there and sing my heart out.”

 

“That’s okay. I’ll come back tomorrow and stand up there with you and keep you company while you sing. If I do that will you sing?” Rick compromised. Tay bit her lip but nodded. “Okay, you won’t regret it.”

 

“I should hope not or you better keep that ring on your finger.” Tay said with a pointed look at Rick’s ring. They smiled at each other and then Rick left because of a phone call to Bonnie. The grill closed up and as she was helped Matt, he asked her how she was doing. “I’m okay.”

 

“Really?” Matt looked at her with wide blue eyes. “Come on, Tay. Something’s bothering you, just tell me.”

 

“It’s a bit hard to explain.” Tay said as she swept the floor.

 

“Okay, well let me know if you want to talk about it. I’m always here for you.” Tay went over and hugged him and then went back to sweeping. “Okay, you look like hell. Go home and get some rest. I’ll finish it and lock up.”

 

“Are you sure?” Matt nodded and she thanked him. “I’ll see you at school tomorrow then! Thanks again!”

 

Tay headed out and went home. She gathered all of her textbooks in one hand and trudged up the stairs. She had to balance the books in one hand while trying to unlock the door with the other. She gave a sigh of relief and kicked open the door, relieved to shift all of the weight into both hands equally. She quickly headed up the stairs and dumped all of her books onto the desk.

 

“Geez.” She said when she shook out her arms. Tay got dressed for bed but realized she still had to do all of her homework, which she ended up doing all night long, not getting a wink of sleep.

 

~~

 

Tay shook out her hand and tried to relieve some of the pain from her wrist. She sighed and stretched her body. She dragged her hand down her exhausted face and she looked at the time. It was five in the morning and she didn’t have to be at school for another three hours at most. She hurriedly finished her homework, not caring what she got as a grade.

 

Tay remembered that she had agreed to sing so she decided to plan while she was in the shower. She got up and stretched and undressed before she turned on the shower to heat up the water. She grabbed her phone and played music then placed it in the rack so it wouldn’t get wet from the water. “What did I agree to?”

 

She hopped in the shower and instantly shied away from the scalding hot water. She slowly pushed the knob to cold so it wouldn’t burn her skin. She avoided the water and stood there, occasionally checking the water’s temperature. Once deemed bearable, she stood under the spray and let the water relax her. She sighed and sang along to the music. I’m Yours by Jason Mraz came on and she sang along, enjoying the quiet guitar. Maybe this is what I’ll do for tonight, she thought to herself.

 

She washed her hair and let the soap help her shape a big blob of hair on the top of her head then slowly worked it out of her hair, and used her hands. She checked the time on the clock she saw it was seven twenty so she got out of the shower and dried herself off with a nearby towel. She would need to do laundry when she came home.

 

Today she dressed up and slipped on a white dress with a long red cardigan and some baby heels. Looking herself over in the mirror, she smiled satisfactorily. She combed out her hair and towel dried the stick straight ends. She went to the bathroom and brushed her teeth then put on makeup. After she checked the time again she grabbed a granola bar then headed to a long day of school.

 

~~

 

Tay’s school day went by surprisingly fast and Rick said he’d come to pick her up for open mike night to make sure she actually went and didn’t ditch him. She had laughed at this and agreed to be picked up at five. She grabbed her phone and practiced last minute with her guitar in hand. The doorbell rang and she got up to get the door. Rick smiled at her and she gestured for him to come in.

 

“You almost ready?”

 

“Yea, let me just change and grab my guitar. Make yourself at home and help yourself to anything in the kitchen. Bathroom’s the first door through that hall.” Tay said before she disappeared. She breathed in before she changed into dark jeans and a white tee shirt with beige boots. She grabbed her guitar case and noticed it was light, then realized that her guitar wasn’t in it. Tay shook her head at herself for being so distracted and nervous then headed downstairs. When she reached the bottom, Rick looked at the pictures on the mantle above the fireplace. “We took that picture at the beach last year.”

 

Rick turned around and smiled. “Are you ready now?”

 

“Yep.” She said with a look that she was really nervous but excited. “I just don’t want to mess up. Do you promise not to leave me alone on the stage, Rick?”

 

“Yea, I promise.” Tay sighed a breath of relief and she felt her heart hammering, her palms sweating, and her hands shaking. “You’ll do great. Before you get angry, I thought this might help your nerves.”

 

“What did you do?” Tay said as she glared at him.

 

“I may or may not have invited everyone.”

 

“Everyone?!” She said with a whimper. “Like…”

 

“Bonnie, Stefan, Damon, Elena, Caroline, Matt, Jeremy, and Tyler.” Rick said with a grin and a hopeful look at Tay. Tay just sat there in silence. They say in silence as Tay tried to calm herself down before she gave herself a heart attack or something. Rick pulled into the grill’s parking lot and helped Tay with her guitar case. “You’ll do great.”

 

“I hope so.” She sucked in a shaky breath. “I’m going to do great. I will not faint, I will not faint, I will not faint.”

 

“That’s the spirit.” He said after he opened the door for her and let her in with her giant guitar case. It was packed in there and she saw a lot of people she knew but none of her friends. She didn't know if this observation terrified her or disappointed her. “Why don’t you go warm up and I’ll try to find everybody?"

 

“Uh, yea okay.” She managed to say before Rick left with a comforting smile. She walked closer to the stage and leaned down to unpack her guitar. Tay sat down on a nearby chair and played a few chords before she was tapped on the shoulder. She looked up because she expected Rick or her one of the people he mentioned earlier but instead found Chris. She lept and gave him a grateful hug. “Oh thank god you’re here.”

 

“Where else would I be? So how’d Alaric get you to agree to this?”

 

“I have no idea honestly. But I’m about to embarrass myself in front of half the town and I can’t think of anything else.”

 

“You need to calm down. You’re heart’s about to explode by how fast it’s going.” Chris said as he gripped her shoulders. Oh that’s right. He was a vampire. He looked her in the eye and his eyes dilated. “You are going to go up there and wow the crowd. Do not get off that stage until you finish your song.”

 

Tay looked at him and smiled. “Thanks for the encouragement.”

 

Chris looked confused for a moment. But then someone pushed her towards the stage and she looked out at everybody. She nervously smiled and took the mike into her hands. “Hi everybody. I’m Tay Athans and I’d like to play I’m Yours by Jason Mraz. Please don’t throw any rotten tomatoes at me.”

 

They laughed even though she was only halfway joking; she really didn’t want anything thrown at her. She sat back and adjusted the mike so it would reach her lips before she set her guitar on her lap. She opened the song with the chords and melody, her hands played the guitar. She breathed in deeply before she sang, “Well, you done done me and you bet I felt it, I tried to be chill but you’re so hot that I melted. I fell right through the cracks, now I’m trying to get back. Before the cool dawn run out, I’ll be giving it my bestest and nothing’s gonna stop me but divine intervention. I reckon, it’s again my turn to win some or learn some.”

 

Tay breathed in and hummed the ooh’s. Her voice had wavered at the beginning but now she enjoyed herself as she locked eyes with Chris who gave her a thumbs up. “So I won’t hesitate no more, no more. It cannot wait, I’m sure. There’s no need to complicate. Our time is short; this is our fate, I’m yours.”

 

She smiled as she sang and tried to look for her friends but she saw none of them and she tried to find Rick. She found him further back by the bar and he smiled then raised his bourbon up to her and she resisted the urge to laugh while she sang. She strummed the last chords and sang the last notes before she finished and stood up to take a bow. The people cheered and a genuine smile lit up Tay’s face as she stepped off the stage.

 

She met Chris offstage and she jumped into his awaited arms. “Oh my gosh I did it! And I didn’t faint!”

 

“Oh that was great!” He swung her around and someone came up behind them and Rick hugged her as well.

 

“Hey, where is everyone?” Tay asked as she looked around her. Rick and Chris share an uneasy glance. “What happened?”

 

“Uh, no one could make it.” Tay’s smile vanished completely. “But that doesn’t mean that you need to be unhappy. They just missed your big debut.”

 

She looked at Chris and Rick and their hopeful faces. “I know I just wished they were here. Plus you guys are my friends. But where could they be?”

 

“Probably up to some supernatural drama or mystery.” Rick said as he put his hands on his hips. Mrs. Lockwood comes up to the trio and pulled Tay to the side to hug her and ask if she’d like to sing again since no one’s singing.

 

“Uh, sure. Let me just think of something to sing.” Tay said before Mrs. Lockwood waves goodbye. She walked over to Chris who asked what she planned to sing. “I don’t have a clue. You guys have any favorites you want me to sing?”

 

“I love it when you sing A Thousand Years. We could duet.” Tay’s smile returned and she gladly went back onstage and sang with Chris as he played the piano. The night fell and Tay was driven home by Rick.

 

“Thank you Rick. I’m really glad you helped me conquer my fears. I really needed that.” Tay thanked him as she hugged Rick after he handed her her guitar case.

 

“I”m glad you did. Everybody’s right, you have an amazing voice. Goodnight, Tay.” He said before he drove away.

 

Tay watched him leave and then she headed into the house. She sighed a breath of relief then squealed and jumped up and down, happy about what she accomplished that night. Then she calmed herself down and headed upstairs. She set her guitar by her dresser then sat on her bed with a huge smile on her face. She put her music on and danced around her room, genuinely happy for once.

 

Once she calmed down she realized that this meant she wouldn’t have to worry as much when she sang in front of the congregation at the church. The thought of the funeral sucked out the happiness and she smacked her head. “Why did I think of that?”

 

She sighed then got dressed for bed, and laid on top of her covers and stared at the ceiling. Her thoughts raced as she tried to think of something that she could sing at the funeral. Did she want to do something that would express her grief and pain over the loss of her family or something about being strong and moving on? Or pay tribute to her family by picking out a favorite song? The thoughts raced around her head and she stayed up all night.


	9. Chapter 9

A few days have passed and Tay hadn’t got any naturally occurring sleep in a week and a half; she's relied on sleeping pills to do the job. All of her friends, even Matt, were too busy with their supernatural drama to pay any attention. Tay got up from her bed all night and she sat down at her computer. She looked up sleeping disorders and was immediately directed to insomnia. She read the symptoms and shook her head, which immediately caused another headache. Tay was worried about her health but she hated going to the doctor.

 

She took some Advil and drowned it with some water. Her stomach seized up and she bent over in pain while she waited for the pain to stop. Tay looked in the mirror and used more than half a tube of concealer to cover the dark circles. She threw on a sweatshirt and leggings with sneakers.

 

Tay then went to school. She walked to into Rick’s classroom slowly and dragged her feet as her head pounded and her stomach ached. Tay tried to focus on his voice but she simply couldn't. She was glad that she had already taken notes on the chapter earlier and when the bell rang, she winced from the loud noise. “Hey, Tay? Can you stay back a minute?”

 

Rick sat behind his desk with a concerned look on his face. Stefan, Elena, and Bonnie sent her a concerned glance and stayed behind as well. “Uh, yea?”

 

Tay looked at him and she felt exhausted as she just stood there so she moved to sit at a desk but stumbled over her own feet and thankfully Stefan used his vampire speed to catch her. “Thanks.”

 

“No problem.”

 

“Tay, I’ve been noticing you haven’t been exactly paying attention or participating. Is everything okay?” Tay managed to find the strength to sit up and her eyesight instantly was covered in black spots and she waited for the spots to go away before she answered. “Tay?”

 

“Uh I'm fine. Really, don’t worry about me.”

 

“You’re heartbeat’s really weak Tay.” Stefan interjected. “Have you been eating well?”

 

“Uh, eating?” Tay frowned as her eyesight was finally back to normal. Bonnie had left and it was just Elena, Stefan, and Rick.

 

“Yes, when was the last time you ate?” That was a good question. When did she eat last? “If it’s taking this long to come up with an answer, it’s been too long. Are you on drugs?”

 

Tay laughed without humor and Stefan and Rick looked at her like she was crazy. “I’m not doing drugs, I swear. That doesn't even sound appealing."

 

“Caroline said she hadn’t been sleeping well a while ago.” Elena said to Rick and Stefan as if Tay wasn’t even there. “Tay, when’s the last time you slept?”

 

Tay frowned, trying to think back. Stefan was saying something but she interrupted him. “Give me a moment. I’m thinking.” 

 

She kept thinking and then said, “The last time I slept… was the day we were supposed to talk at your house Stefan. It was a Monday I think. Oh! The day before was the masquerade ball at the Lockwood’s house.”

 

“You haven’t slept for two weeks?!” Elena said as she looked extremely worried.

 

“Well I've used sleeping pills but yea, don’t worry. I feel great. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to Trigonometry.” Tay pushed away from the desk and grabbed her backpack. She could hear Elena, Stefan, and Rick began to talk but everything started to fade away. Tay struggled to get her energy up so she could climb the stairs from the first floor to the third. She dragged her book bag along and as she climbed, the blood in her head pounded.

 

She finally reached her classroom and the teacher glared at her for interrupting the lesson. The day dragged by and her chorus and piano teacher also pulled her aside but let her go after a minute. Finally the bell rang, which signaled the end of the day. Tay got up from her piano and turned it off. She slowly moved and Mr. Hamilton, the teacher, walked up to her. “Athans, are you okay? I was listening to you play your sonata and you messed up in that song more times than you’ve messed up all year so far.”

 

“Yea, I’m fine Mr. Hamilton. I’m just tired.” Mr. Hamilton looked at the poor girl. Tay’s hair was up in a messy bun and her sweatshirt seemed to engulf her. Her legs, which were already lean, looked skinnier. Mr. Hamilton studied her face and she seemed to have a lot of cover up on.

 

“Athans, if something is wrong, you can tell me.” He watched the girl struggle to smile and he realized it must be a result from the loss of her family. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

 

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. I’m sure you have other things to do.” She waved a hand as if it was that easy and then adjusted her bookbag. She started to leave as she said, “Have a nice night Mr. Hamilton.”

 

“You too Athans. Get some sleep and eat something.” He said at the last minute.

 

“I wish.” He heard her mutter to herself before leaving. She walked down the many stairs to the lobby and found the entire gang in front of her, minus Stefan and Bonnie. They seemed to talk intensely about something so she walked towards her car without saying hello. She stumbled on a tree root and her book bag slipped off her shoulder. Tay sighed and picked up her books before getting into her car.

 

Everything seemed to move in slow motion and Tay drove to the library. Her phone rang as she was just getting out. “Hello?”

 

“Where are you?” Caroline demanded to know. Tay held the phone away from her ear and said that she was at the library, where she had been going after school for the past week. “Oh, we’ll be there in five!”

 

Before Tay could ask who she meant by “we”, Caroline had hung up. Tay walked into the library and smiled at the older woman working at the checkout. Tay headed over to her favorite table, in the corner and by the vent that blew cold air. She curled in and took out her books when she heard a bunch of noisy people walk into the library. She rolled her eyes; didn’t they know it was an unspoken rule to be quiet at the library?

 

Unfortunately they moved closer to Tay as she read her book and she glanced up to see Caroline, Elena, and Tyler walk towards her. She sighed and put her book down. They all sat down and smiled at her, but smiled as if she was something they didn’t want to frighten. “Hi.”

 

“That’s all you have to say?” Tyler said.

 

“Uh, how are you?” Her voice lilted up, which made her voice seem high pitched and not sure of what she asked. Her stomach clenched up and she grimaced and unfortunately they noticed.

 

“You’re coming with us.” Caroline grabbed her hand and yanked her up, which caused Tay to stumble and almost pass out from the abrupt movement. “Don’t even think about trying to leave because there are four of us and only one of you.”

 

“My book…” She protested and looked behind her to see Tyler who packed up her bag. “What’s this about?”

 

“We’re going to make you sleep and eat so you can get yourself healthy again.” Caroline provided as she dragged Tay out of the library and her grip tightened. Tay whimpered as she felt the bones break and Caroline almost immediately let go. For a moment, Caroline forgot her own strength. She bit her wrist and offered it to Tay, who immediately declined the offer and instead, held her wrist close to her chest.“We’re going to Stefan’s house.”

 

“Oh.” Elena walked in step behind her and Caroline got into Tay’s car. “Here, I’ll drive.”

 

“Yea, I don’t think so. I kind of like my life so I’m going to drive.” Tyler said as he sat in the driver’s seat. Tay was forced into the back and Caroline bit her wrist again then held it out for Tay who backed away as much as the car would allow.

 

“What? It’s for your wrist.” Caroline held her arm for Tay but Tay kept her mouth shut and her hand around her mouth to keep the poisonous blood away from her. “Fine, I’ll just Stefan to do it.”

 

Tay sat in her car as Tyler drove and she waited to see how they planned to make her sleep. Caroline pulled her out of the car. “Stefan, can you help me?”

 

She grumbled and helped Tay to the door and as they entered they saw Damon who ran with a flamethrower in his hands. Tay stared open mouthed after him and said, “What the… please tell me you saw him too.”

 

“You go sit on the couch, I’ll see what’s wrong.” Caroline sped out of the room and left behind a blur of wind and Tay went to sit on the couch. She heard a bunch of yells and screams then it stopped. Damon and Stefan came back and Caroline and Elena left to go to the grill for a girl’s night. They told Tay she was too weak to come and she glared at her friends after they left the she leaned back in her chair. Stefan looked at Tay and sat across from her in a plush chair.

 

“So, when was the last time you’ve eaten?”

 

“Four days ago when I thought my stomach pains were because I was hungry. They weren’t.”

 

“You haven’t eaten in four days?” Stefan seemed surprised. “So you haven’t eaten in four days and you haven’t slept in two weeks?”

 

“Yes, I have not.” She clarified. “If this is just going to be a recap of how bad my health is, I have homework to do-”

 

“No, sit down. So why can’t you sleep?” Tay had started to get up but Stefan’s commanding tone stopped her in her tracks. She did not sit down, however.

 

“If I knew the answer, Stefan, don’t you think I’d try to fix the problem?”

 

“Have you tried sleeping pills?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“And?”

 

“I didn’t like using them. I hated the sluggish feeling it left behind as well as headaches. I already have a headache and I don’t want to make it worse but I use them anyway.” Tay paused then said, “I looked on my computer this morning for sleeping disorders and it listed insomnia as one. I’m pretty sure that’s what I have.”

 

Stefan sped up to his room and came back two seconds with a laptop and already started to type away. Tay assumed that he was looking up insomnia. “Okay, so it says that the causes are loss of a family member-”

 

“Check.” Stefan gave her a look for interrupting then continued.

 

“Post traumatic anxiety, depression, change in your work or study environment, alcohol and other drugs or medications, and eating too late in the evening.”

 

“Well anxiety from being tortured, I can barely fake smile, I’ve been constantly busy because I’m trying to keep my mind off my family’s death, I did pass out from alcohol though I’ve been taking headache medicine as well as stomach medicine and sleeping pills, and eating too late hasn’t been a problem although barely eating has been.” Tay ticked off her fingers. Stefan frowned and gave her a serious look. “Okay, now that we have that cleared, can I go now? The girls aren’t even here to make me sleep and I’m going to assume Damon will take care of Katherine and you’ll do whatever Stefans do at… four o'clock in the afternoon.”

 

Stefan paused for a moment while he thought back to what Tay had said. “Are you lonely, Tay?”

 

Yes, she wanted to say but only the lie emitted itself from her lips. “No, why would you say that?”

 

“Because you’re assuming everyone’s leaving you.”

 

“Because everyone has. The girls, Rick, and Matt are at the grill, Tyler’s off doing something after he dropped off my bags here, Damon’s downstairs, and you’re… still here for some reason.” She trailed off in a moment of confusion.

 

“So you are lonely.”

 

“Yes!” She exploded. “You guys have been so caught up in your own drama that you didn’t notice for two weeks, two weeks! You all haven’t seen I’ve been slowly dying. Or that my cut on my stomach won’t heal. Or that you haven’t answered my damned questions about what I am and what the hell Katherine had said at the masquerade ball. Or that you guys fucking missed when I finally sang in front of people at the grill. Or when I fainted and went to the hospital for two days. Or when I auditioned for the damn play. Or when I found out I was Maria, the lead in the play.”

 

Stefan’s face couldn’t be more shocked; Tay never cursed. She was always so happy and joyful but now she stood before him, her chest heaved from her anger, her breath shortened from frustration, and her hands clenched from her chagrin. “Well, I’m done with you all. Just leave me alone.”

 

She stormed away but unfortunately, Tay was blocked by Damon. She glared at him and he smirked back as he crossed his arms. “Now where do you think you’re going?”

 

“Home, where I can not sleep and not eat.” Damon gestured to Stefan and the next thing Tay knew was that she was in an unfamiliar room. She went to the door and found it was locked. She groaned and saw that the room had a huge bed and a cart of food with an adjoining bathroom. She turned away from the fattening foods and went to sit on the bed. Tay sank into the plush mattress and sat up then leaned against the headboard. Hours passed by and still, she didn’t fall asleep. She had tried to open the window earlier to get some air but it was locked and wouldn’t budge. Tay laid on the mattress, her back to the door when she heard the door open. She could hear heels, so she assumed it was one of the girls coming to check on her. “Is she asleep?”

 

“No.” Tay answered and rolled onto her other side to see everybody there with concerned faces. “Can I go home now?”

 

“Did you even eat anything?” Tay nodded her head at Elena.

 

“But it didn’t sit well and I couldn’t keep it down.” She added. She sat up and played with the covers. “I’ve just been sitting on this bed with only my thoughts and do you know how depressed that makes me? I just want to go home.”

 

“I’m sorry but I can’t do that.” Stefan said and she huffed in frustration.

 

“You’re stuck with us.” Tay sat up and then got off the bed. She stood up, her back straight and her face deadly serious.

 

“Look, if you really cared then you would have noticed before two weeks, okay? None of you have the right to be concerned about me because you haven’t been there for me.” Tay looked them all in the eye and dared them to protest. None of them did, not even Damon. “So, if someone wants to finally answer my questions as to what the hell a siren is, that’d be great.”

 

Everyone was shocked to hear her cuss. Everyone piled in and joined her on the bed then exclaimed apologies but Tay just sat there with a blank stare. She wasn’t about to say that it was okay because it wasn’t. They’d left her when she needed them the most and the funeral was in three days but they didn’t even know that because she hadn’t gotten the opportunity to tell them.

 

“Okay, I get that you’re sorry but I don’t want your apologies, I want answers.” She looked around at them and waited till they quieted down. “So Stefan, what is a siren?”

 

“They’re enchantresses of the sea. They used to lure sailors to their death.” She knew that but was that what they really were? Or was that a myth? “That’s all I know. Damon?”

 

Damon just shrugged. Tay threw her hands up in exasperation and gave him a look, but he just shrugged again. “Well that was helpful.”

 

“So what did you mean earlier by the cut on your stomach?” Stefan asked with a glance at said area.

 

“Just that. But I figured out you can only see it in the mirror.” Tay walked to the bathroom, leaving the door open and lifted her shirt up a bit to reveal the horrible marking. Elena and Bonnie gasped. She put her shirt down and everybody filed out of the bathroom then went back to the bed. “So, is that really all you know? Is Katherine the only one who knows more about this?”

 

“Seems like it.” Bonnie shrugged.

 

“Then I’ll find her and finally get some answers.” Tay said. Everybody started to disagree and they said it was a bad idea. “Look, I deserve to know what I am. Apparently I’m the last one and I want to know why. Why did they kill my family? I won’t be able to live with myself if I don’t figure that out.”

 

“Fine.” Elena spoke up. “But you at least have to eat before you leave.”

 

“Fine.” Knowing this was the best she could do, Tay agreed. Then she walked over to the cart of food. She picked out the least richest food and nibbled on it. She heard her stomach grumbling but thankfully nothing came back up. “There, I ate something. I’ll be back.”


	10. Chapter 10

Unfortunately for Tay, Katherine had disappeared and no one had seen her since last night. She sighed. Thankfully it was the Friday and the decade dance was tonight so she could get ready for that. She had to remember to get more under eye concealer because she ran out. Tay went to her parent’s room and brought down the ladder that was attached to the opening to get to the attic. She headed upstairs and realized she’d never been in the attic before but she never wanted to go in there again. Some of the planks in the floor were missing and the ones that were there, didn’t look so stable or strong.

 

Just then someone knocked at the door. Tay mumbled to herself and climbed down the ladder. He or she knocked at her door again and she yelled down, “I’m coming!”

 

She ran downstairs and pulled down her shirt to cover her stomach. Tay flung open the door and saw Rick who stood there a bit awkwardly. At first she was confused but she quickly covered the mistake with a smile and stepped aside to let him in. “Hey, what are you doing here?”

 

“Bonnie sent me to watch you.” He said, his eyes trailed down her body. Tay missed it though as she turned around and let him step inside.

 

“Of course she did. At least this time wasn’t like last time right?” Tay said then looked at him and laughed. For a moment Rick didn’t laugh and seemed confused but laughed along with her. “Man, I was so wasted.”

 

“It was pretty amusing. The things you said.” Rick said. Tay was confused, her brow pinched and her eyes seemed to lose their shine as they clouded over.

 

“I thought you said I didn’t do anything bad.” She frowned and tried to remember that night.

 

“Never mind. So what were you doing before I came in?” He seemed anxious to change the subject.

 

“I was about to get some clothes for the decade dance tonight. Everything’s in the attic. I’d love a helping hand.” She implored.

 

“Yea of course love.” Rick said. Love? What?

 

“Uh, yea right this way.” She led him up the stairs and into her parents bedroom. “In the beginning I couldn’t even come in here but I’m getting better. It’s still kind of creepy though.”

 

“Yea, I get it.” He said as she took down the ladder and climbed up first. She looked back and saw Rick look back up at her with a smile.

 

“Usually you’re a bit more talkative than this, are you and Jenna okay Rick?” She pulled herself up into the attic and turned around to give Rick a hand. She leaned down and offered a hand. He took it and then looked around.

 

“I’m guessing you don’t come up here often?” Tay laughed humorlessly as she too took an imploring look around at the decrepit space. “I’ll take that as a no. So where are the clothes?”

 

“No clue but if you could just open random boxes then we’ll find out soon enough.” Tay shrugged and went to open boxes. She wiped off the dust and coughed a bit. She hummed to herself and continued to open the boxes. Most of this stuff was from her childhood or from Sy’s and she quickly closed those. She was about to move on but she realized that she almost stepped into a crack in the floor. “Oh, geez. That was close.”

 

Rick looked over to see her almost fall through. “At least you caught yourself.”

 

“Yea, I would not want to pay for someone to fix it.” Rick looked at her funny. “And you know, I wouldn’t want to get hurt either.”

 

They went back to opening and closing boxes. Tay continued to sing aloud, mostly to herself and Rick didn’t seem to mind, in fact he listened intently. “Hey Rick what’s today’s date?”

 

“Uh the 15th. Why?” Rick looked over and saw Tay by the window and she stared silently at a photo. He walked over and went to see what she looked at. “What’s that?”

 

“It was at my fourth birthday party. I made everyone dress up as a princess, even my brother.” She paused and wiped away a tear. “I just realized that yesterday was my birthday and no one even said anything.”

 

She sank into the floor and looked up at Rick who seemed surprised. “I’m sorry. Happy belated birthday, Teles.”

 

“They forgot about me again.” Tay buried her hands in her hand and wanted to cry but she hated to cry. Rick lifted her chin and looked her in the eyes. His pupils started to dilate.

 

“You had a wonderful birthday. Caroline threw a big party for you and you danced with Tyler and Matt. Bonnie gave you a beautiful necklace and you had fun.” He said then looked into Tay’s eyes. The tears still fell and she inched away from him.

 

“What are you doing? They didn’t celebrate my birthday.” Tay stood up and looked at him. Rick was surprised and she looked at him. “Okay, I’m done crying. Sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable.”

 

“No it’s alright.”

 

“It’s that bastard Klaus’s fault.” Rick seemed amused and couldn’t suppress his smirk or laughter. “What? Why are you laughing at me?”

 

“No reason, Teles.” Rick watched as she put her hands on her hips and glared at him. He put his hands up in mock surrender and said, “Well, it’s not really Klaus’s fault.”

 

“How is not? Ever since I’ve known about vampires and stuff, all of my friends seem to be avoiding me and Klaus is now keeping them entertained because he keeps dropping all these cryptic hints and creepy messages. That guy has already irritated me and I haven’t even met him yet. He’s been hiding somewhere in the town.” Tay said with a huff as she kept looking through boxes. She finally found the sixties clothes. She pulled out a couple of dresses and then continued to look through the box when she finds a journal. “What is with all of the ancestors of Mystic Falls writing journals?”

 

Rick just laughed at Tay and they headed downstairs. She went to try on the dresses to see if any fit and only one of them do. It’s a fitted dress with a rather ugly pattern on it but it will do. She went out to see Rick who read the journal on her bed. “Hey, didn’t your mother ever tell you that it’s rude to read things that aren’t yours?”

 

“No.” He bound the book up and handed it to her with an amused look on his face. “Don’t you look very sixties?”

 

“Oh good. Because none of the others fit. Too big.” She looked down and pulled at the extremely short hem. “My mom was a bit shorter than I am.”

 

“Well, I think you look beautiful.” She gave him a questioning look. “Forget I said that, I might get my teaching license revoked.”

 

“Off the records, thank you. It means a lot that you’ve been spending time with me. I’ve got my dad’s special bourbon, would you like a glass? I know bourbon’s your favorite.”

 

“Sure. How’d you know it’s my favorite?”

 

“You’re hilarious. Like you don’t know.” She said with a laugh as she went to pick up the bourbon and to get out a glass. Just one though. Rick just laughed and she set the glass down in front of him and then she went to get a glass of orange juice and some crackers to nibble on. “Elena says that I have to eat every time I drink so this is my go to snack. Crackers.”

 

“You haven’t been eating?” Now, she was worried about Rick.

 

“Are you okay?” She reached over and placed her hand on his forehead to check his temperature.

 

“I’m fine.” Rick insisted.

 

“Then why aren’t you remembering this stuff? Like when I mentioned the night I answered the door drunk, when you called me love, and you called me Teles. No one calls me Teles. Then you tried to compel me.” She listed and she thought about what could be wrong. Then the lightbulb turned on. “You bastard!”

 

“Come on love. No need to be like that.” Rick, or Klaus, said as he came near her. “I’m surprised your friends haven’t figured it out yet.”

 

She rolled her eyes. “So what now? Why did you even come here?”

 

“I said, Bonnie asked me to check on you. So here I am.” He tried to smirk but it didn’t look right.

 

“Don’t smirk. Rick doesn’t smirk so it doesn’t look cute.” She said. He grinned and Tay just glared back at him. “Are you here to kill me?”

 

“No, why would I do that?”

 

Tay shrugged. “You’re heartless. Bored. Crazy. Take your pick.”

 

“I assure I’m none of those things.” Tay’s eyebrow rose at this and Rick/Klaus conceded. “Okay, maybe heartless but I’m not crazy.”

 

“Whatever floats your boat.” She walked away and went up to her room but heard Rick/Klaus follow her. She turned on her music and went to her adjoined bathroom to try to unzip her dress.

 

“Need some help sweetheart?” She looked over to see him in the doorway; he leaned against the frame with a smile on his face, which clearly showed that he enjoyed the show.

 

“No, now go away.” She tried to slam the door in his face but he pushed back and ended up hitting her in the nose with the door, which made it bleed. “Ow! Look what you did.”

 

She tilted her head back, winced, and tried to stop the flow of blood. She reached for the tissues and put them to her nose then looked at her hands which were a bloody mess. Rick/Klaus stepped forward but she pushed him back. “No stay away. You did enough. Get out of my way.”

 

“Love-”

 

“I’m not your love.” She walked out of the bathroom and turned up the music which blared in her ears and she sang along.

 

“Why are you singing? You have a bloody nose.” He stepped forward to turn off the music but she glared at him and continued to sing. Soon enough the bleeding stopped and now all that was left were the bruises. Tay removed the tissues and Rick/Klaus stared at her perplexed as she continued to sing and the bruise slowly faded away. “Ah, I’ve found the last siren.”

 

She gave him a once over. “What do you know about sirens?”

 

“A lot.” He said with a smirk. But when he didn't go on, she glared. She realized she left a hand print in blood on his shirt and he noticed her stare and he grinned. “You should be thankful I’m not in my actual body. I’ve never denied myself a meal.”

 

“I’ll keep that mind.” She paused and turned down the music. “So do you want to tell me more about sirens?”

 

“Do you want me to help you unzip that dress?” Rick/Klaus’s eyes raked over her body and she turned away in disgust. “Then it seems we’ve reached an impasse.”

 

“That we have.” Tay really wanted answers to who she was. She frowned and Rick/Klaus walked over and ran his thumb over her cheekbone. She tried to jerk away but he held her chin fast in his grip. She looked him in the eye, terrified of what he could do to her this close. He could snap her neck, kiss her, slap her, or god knows what else.

 

“Don’t look so scared love. Your beautiful eyes are dilated so that I almost can’t see the pretty green in them.” He moved his hand and cupped her face, as if to kiss her. She trembled beneath his touch and then he moved away. She breathed a sigh of relief then he sat on her bed and put his shoes on her white comforter. She walked over and shoved them off her bed. “So do you know anything about being a siren?”

 

“I’m going to get changed.” She said and then closed the door and made sure it’s locked. She awkwardly unzipped the zipper and tried to be quick about everything because she was a bit uncomfortable when she undressed with Rick/Klaus on the other side of the door. On one hand it was her history teacher's body but inside that body was a serial killer and vampire. Then Tay realized she forgot to bring clothes to get changed into. She banged her head against the door in frustration and tried to think of something. Then she spotted her silky robe on the hanger and grudgingly put it on. She wasted time and grabbed her dress then folded it and to make sure it wasn't wrinkled.

 

Tay breathed in before she unlocked the door and stepped into her room. Rick/Klaus looked around her room and snooped through her closet. “What are you doing?”

 

“Just looking.” He said and looked up to see her in a short silky robe and he stared for a moment before he looked away hurriedly. She pushed him away from her closet before she grabbed a pair of jeans and a cardigan with a tank top.

 

“Go sit on the bed or something.”

 

“Are you going to join me?” Rick/ Klaus asked with a smirk when he saw that he had made her uncomfortable. Then she steeled herself against him and shot back.

 

“No. And even if I was going to, I wouldn’t do anything to you in that body. That’s my teacher and that’d be disgusting, no offense to Rick.” Then she turned on her heel and walked back into the bathroom. She changed quickly as she did not want Rick/Klaus to be alone in her room for a long time.

 

She walked back into the room and braided her hair as she saw Rick/Klaus still on her bed. “Why haven’t you killed me yet?”

 

Rick/Klaus shrugged and she seemed to think that was all she was going to get out of him. She leaned against the door and closed her eyes but was alert for any movement. She didn't hear anything and a minute later she opened her eyes to find Rick/Klaus's eyes intently studying her. “What?”

 

“Are you tired, love?”

 

“You have no idea but you don’t get to hear my problems Klaus, because you’ll probably just use them against me.” She self- consciously reached up to her eyes and covered them because she knew the dark circles under them were disgusting. “So are you going to tell me what a siren is or am I just going to be kept in the dark about who I am for the rest of my life?”

 

“Maybe later love. But as for now, I can’t have you leaving this room.” She looked up and saw he was just outside her room with a man who looked surprisingly familiar to her. “I can’t have you blabbing my secret out to the world.”

 

She ran over to him but was blocked by a barrier; she hit the invisible wall in frustration and in anger. Rick/Klaus smirked then pulled something out of his pocket. Tay sighs as she realized it was her phone and the house phone. Great. Now she couldn't even warn her friends. “Ugh, not again.”

 

“I’ll be by later to pick you up. I’m sure once I get out of this ugly haircut that my other body will be hungry for a bite. I hear a siren’s blood is supposed to be the most delicious thing in the world.” With that, Klaus left her in her room.

 

~~

 

Night had fallen and she was still stuck in her room. She looked out her window and hoped everyone was okay. She was sure Klaus had something planned for tonight’s dance. She knew Bonnie would kill herself if she used too much power and Tay hoped that Bonnie didn’t die tonight. She sighed. All of her new books were downstairs so she sat by her window bed and she sang to keep herself busy.

 

“Makes me that much stronger, makes me work a little bit harder. It makes me that much wiser so thanks for making me a fighter. Made me learn a little bit faster, made my skin a little bit thicker, makes me that that much smarter so thanks for making me a fighter.” She sang and she put her anger into the song then she felt herself grow angrier and stronger with every word. When she reached the trills, the high notes made the window’s crack. She immediately stopped and walked over to observe the glass and she inspected it.

 

“What the hell?” She whispered to herself. She sang a scale and reached her head voice. The glass began to shake and crack even more then she burst out in a high note and the windows shattered. She ducked, shielding herself from the glass that flew everywhere. When Tay didn't feel the glass rain down on her anymore she looked around and saw the glass pieces everywhere. “Woah.”

 

She sees the blood on her arms that bled through the cardigan and she took it off then realized she still had blood everywhere else so she took off her tank top. She stood there without a shirt as she tried to tug out the glass. She found a rather large piece embedded in her shoulder and she winced as she tried to take it out. Tay yanked harder and yelled louder.

 

She finally yanked the piece out and she snarled in anguish. “Well this is entertaining.”

 

She jumped up and saw Rick/Klaus who stood there with an amused grin. She glared at him but realized she didn't have a shirt on. She yanked her tank top on and he said, “Oh, don’t be modest on my account love.”

 

“Oh don’t be an ass.” Tay said as she winces from her shoulder movement.

 

“Ouch. I thought you were the nice one. At least that’s what I’ve been told. Come on, let’s go.”

 

Rick/Klaus came in and so did the guy from earlier. She tried to scramble away but she ended up stepping on glass shards. She gasped as the hurt invaded her thoughts. “Maddox, do your thing.”

 

Tay looked up at the guy, Maddox, and he locks eyes with her and she howled in pain. Her brain felt like it’s exploding and she fell to the ground. She screamed but she couldn't hear them because her ears felt like they were bleeding. She shook her head as if that will take away the pain and Rick/Klaus grabbed her. She still screamed and Maddox still caused an aneurysm in her head. She screamed her throat raw and struggled in Rick/Klaus’s arms. Eventually Maddox punched her jaw and knocked her unconscious.


	11. Chapter 11

Tay slowly awakened and looked around. She was in an apartment and she saw Katherine, who sat there on a chair and obviously bored. “Oh good, you’re finally awake.”

 

“Uh, where are we?”

 

“Rick’s apartment.” Tay gave Katherine a cautious look and tried to assess if she was going to bite her. “He compelled me not to harm you. Don’t worry.”

 

“Oh okay thanks.” Tay went to stand up but she found herself literally bound to the chair. “What?”

 

“He didn’t want you to leave. Not that you could any. His witch put a spell on the loft so we can’t leave.” Katherine took a drink from the bourbon bottle then turned on the music and started to dance around, which showed off the fact she wasn’t bound to a chair.

 

Suddenly she stopped and looked towards the door. She sped to the couch just as Rick/Klaus opened the door. “Mind turning that down?”

 

Katherine pointed the remote to the stereo and turned the volume to low. “Why so grumpy?”

 

“Well, this body has outlived its usefulness.”

 

“Do you want a drink?” Katherine asked, her voice lilted in a more seductive way than Tay’s ever heard. It was hard to separate Elena and Katherine in her mind because they looked so similar yet acted so differently. Rick/Klaus refused and Katherine stood up and said, “Come on, might loosen you up.”

 

She walked slowly in front of him and waved the bottle around but Rick/Klaus got a tad angry and threw the bottle across the room. Dramatic much?, Tay thought to herself but she’s content to let Katherine take the brunt of Klaus’s anger. Then she obeyed his compulsion and Maddox entered. “Maddox, what took you so long?”

 

“You got a lotta luggage.” He said as a couple of men come in with suitcases. A black girl about twenty something came in and Rick/Klaus greeted her with a smile and her name, Greta.

 

“Hello love.” They continued to talk as Tay tried to get out of her bonds but to no avail. “Nice body. Are you ready to get out of it?”

 

Rick/Klaus gave her a look that said yes and soon enough a massive box was wheeled in which Tay could only assume had Klaus’s real body in it. She looked at the box in disgust and gave a huff of frustrated breath. Rick/Klaus turned his attention on Tay as she didn’t realize he watched her. She struggled with the bonds that held her captive in the chair. “Teles, you’re not going to get out of them. You may was well stop.”

 

“You bastard. Let me go. What do you even want with me?” He gave her a look as Greta and Maddox arranged things for a spell and they arranged candles in a semi-circle. Rick/Klaus walked over to her and got close to her face.

 

“You should get those cuts looked at.” He touched her face and stroked her cheekbone and once again, Tay trembled. He grasped her face and looked her in the eyes. “It’s a crying shame you can’t be compelled. I’d have you strip down like you did before and watch you try to heal yourself.”

 

He held her jaw so she couldn’t speak and she tried to wrench herself from his grasp. Then he got distracted when Greta and Maddox were done preparing the candles. Rick/Klaus went over and stood by the box that had Klaus’s body in it. Katherine stood too then watched it and as the witches chanted, the flames shot up and Rick’s eyes shot open.

 

“Elena? Tay?” He asked in a confused daze before he passed out. Maddox then stood up to go and open the box. Tay awaited with bated breath as he slowly opened the box. Then she saw Klaus for the first time; a young man with dirty blond hair and a few curls stepped out with a couple of necklaces on, a casual suit as he glanced around the room. Tay couldn’t help but admit that he was handsome. Klaus first looked at Rick’s body then at his witches.

 

“Now that’s more like it.” Oh, he’s British. Tay dared not to move but she knew her heart hammered away in her chest. It was easier to stand up to Klaus when he was in her teacher’s body but this man exuded confidence, lethal power, and arrogance. He looked around and smirked when he spots Tay bonded to the chair.

 

Tay could see why he smirked all the time in Rick’s body, it was because he looked so hot in his own when he smirked. She pushed those thoughts out of her head as he slowly came closer to her. Her heart sped up in her chest although she forced her face to look calm. Klaus smirked when he stood right in front of her and leaned down. “No need to be scared love. It’s only me.”

 

Tay breathed in deeply but she accidentally inhaled Klaus’s forest scent. She shook her head and looked him in the eye and demanded, “Stay away from me.”

 

Klaus laughed a bit as if he found her amusing before he let his smirk fall. “Listen to me sweetheart. You’re not the one in charge, I am. You don’t get to make demands.”

 

She narrowed her eyes at him and he leaned in closer then buried his head in her hair. Tay felt her heart pound in her chest and Klaus no doubt heard it. He inhaled the fresh scent of her neck and whispered against her soft skin, “Siren blood, Teles. Absolutely intoxicating and all consuming. I’ve had several sirens before and I couldn’t stop drinking. I drained them dry.”

 

His lips tickled the skin on her neck. But then he withdrew and he had a smirk on his face as he watched her glare and tremble. “Maddox unbind her and take her tank top off. She has to get those nasty shards out of her skin. I can’t be drinking glass later.”

 

Maddox came over and Tay avoided his stare and looked the other way. He started to chant and soon enough the binds fell away. Maddox comes closer and she feels his hand tug at the bottom of her shirt. “Wait Maddox. Katerina and Greta, you may go to the other room.”

 

Tay grit her teeth and looked over Maddox’s shoulder to glare at Klaus and his arrogant smirk. Klaus made sure that the girls were gone and that he and Maddox were the only ones in the room. He wanted to embarrass her and torture her. “Now you may proceed, Maddox.”

 

Maddox gripped a handful of her tanktop and she closed her eyes as she felt the shirt tear from her body. Tay stood up and rummaged around to look for a bowl without casting a glance at Klaus and Maddox. She finally found a decent sized bowl and she turned around to set it on the counter when she find herself face to face with Klaus. Tay jumped a bit and Klaus looked down at her because of his height but stared into her eyes. “Can you please move?”

 

“Are we using manners now love?”

 

“I’m not your love.” She stepped to the side and Klaus did the same. Tay glared up at him and he smirked down at her. “I need to take the glass out of my body and dump the pieces into this bowl.”

 

Klaus then stepped away and sat at the chair on the other side. Tay set down the bowl and inspected her arms. She felt millions of pieces of embedded into her arms and back. Tay prepared herself mentally and tried to yank a shard out of her hand. She winced as she pulled on it but the cuts had started to heal when she was unconscious. She looked around in the drawers, searching for a knife. When she opened the ones in front of her, she looked up at Klaus who stared back. “Where are your knives?”

 

“You don’t plan on killing yourself, do you?” Klaus stood up and sped to a drawer and pulled out a dinner knife, a rather dull one that won’t work.

 

“No I don’t. I need to reopen the cuts to get the glass out and that knife won’t work.” Klaus pulled out another knife and handed it to her, handle first. “Thanks.”

 

Tay set it on the counter and picked out the glass in her right hand so that way the glass won’t go further into her hand when she gripped the knife. Then she picked up the knife and turned her left hand over, palm up, and eyed the piece of glass and took the knife and applied pressure to the cut. She gasped in pain but kept carving into her skin. Soon enough the cut was just big enough to fish the glass out of and Tay winced as the glass pulled at some of her muscle. She looked up to see Klaus staring at her hand with his eyes redder and the veins popped out beneath his eyes.

 

Suddenly he was right next to her; he grabbed her hand and forced her blood into his mouth. Klaus began to drink her blood and Tay began to feel lightheaded. “Klaus, stop. Stop, please.”

 

She began to beg and soon enough she fell to her knees from lack of strength and Klaus let go. She looked up at him and saw her blood drip from his mouth. He still had his vampire face and she shakily stood up. Tay looked at him and reached up slowly then wiped off her blood on his mouth. His face went back to normal and she turned away from him as she started to pick up the knife again as she had already found the next piece of glass. Then with a whip of wind, Klaus was on the other side of the counter. “Are you going to drink my blood every time I dig out a piece? Because I’ll be dead within the next few pieces if you do.”

 

She didn't look up at him as she pushed down on her forearm and grasped another piece. She threw it into the bowl then looked up and saw only Klaus, no Maddox. She raised an eyebrow and continued to cut herself to get the glass out. Klaus never responded, only sat there and watched Tay cut herself up. After hours of doing this, Tay was finally done with her arms and legs but she still had pieces in her back. She bit her lip and tried to decide what to do.

 

Klaus realized her dilemma and walked over to her with a small smirk. “Need some help with that love?”

 

Tay wanted to refuse because if she accepted that would mean she would let Klaus cut her up and take out the larger chunks of glass out her. But refusing also meant that the glass stayed in her. “Fine. I can’t believe I’m doing this.”

 

Tay turned around after she handed him the knife carefully. “You can trust me.”

 

“I somehow doubt that.” She heard snores in the other room and Tay was glad because she didn’t want Katherine to come in and suck her dry. Klaus began at her shoulders and Tay gasped in pain, he was exerting too much pressure. “Shit. You’re applying too much pressure.”

 

“It’s the only way to get the glass.” Klaus said as he continued. She felt him take out the glass and it ripped into her muscles. She hissed and gripped the counter for support. “I can’t take out the glass if you’re tense.”

 

“It’s hard not to be tense when you have a vampire at your back with a knife, digging glass. I’ll never see it coming when you literally stab me in the back.” She said through gritted teeth as he dug out another. His hands felt cold against her back and she involuntarily shivered.

 

Fortunately he didn't say anything and continued his extraction. It was pitch black outside now and they were almost done. Now Klaus squatted and was near her butt because he was digging a piece out of her hip. He gripped her waist and steadied her as he cut deeper. She gasped and screamed in pain as he dug it out. “You’re done.”

 

But he didn't let her leave his grasp. He kept his hands on her waist and placed his mouth on her hip, sucking her blood. “Klaus, no stop. I’ve lost too much blood.”

 

Klaus continued, either oblivious to her struggles and pleads or just ignoring them. She tried to shift her hips away then grabbed his hair and yanked hard. Suddenly they flew across the room and Klaus had her in a choke hold and dangled her above the floor. Tay kicked out as strong as she can and he went crashing back into the counter. The two blurred together as Tay realized she had super-speed as well, although not she wasn't quite as fast as Klaus.

 

Klaus three her at the bed and lunged for her but she scrambled away quickly and he growled in frustration. She scampered away and blurred for the door but she was blocked by the barrier still. But the moment of confusion had her back in Klaus’s grip, with his hand in her chest, lightly squeezing her heart. Tay choked on her breath and got lightheaded because the blood wasn't flowing to her brain as it should be. It didn't help that he had almost drained her of blood not moments before.

 

“Go ahead… Kill me… I have nothing else… to live for.” She gasped out and waited for Klaus to rip her heart out. He slowly withdrew his hand and she fell to the floor, while she clutched her chest. She stumbled to the stereo she saw Katherine use and she turned on a familiar song. She sang along and soon enough, the skin sewed itself together. Tay eyed Klaus, who stood where she had left him with her blood dripping from his hand. When she checked that her skin is indeed intact, she turned to him and said, “Why didn’t you kill me?”

 

“That wouldn’t be a very nice birthday gift now would it?” He said and lifted both of his eyebrows with a smile. “I rather fancy birthdays.”

 

“But tomorrow you’ll kill me?” Klaus shrugged and stood there against the door then looked around the room at the damage done to the apartment. “Can you please tell me about being a siren?”

 

“Shouldn’t you get some shut eye? It’s nearly one in the morning love.” Klaus wiped Tay’s blood off on his jacket then took it off and threw it on the bed.

 

“I haven’t been able to sleep for the past two weeks. I highly doubt I’ll start now.” Klaus lifted his eyebrows up again and tilted his head.

 

“Two weeks? Is that what caused these?” Suddenly Klaus was in front of her and he traced underneath her eyes, more specifically the bags under her eyes. “Tell me, what has got you in such a tizzy?”

 

Klaus walked over to the bed and sat down, then leaned his upper torso against the board and stared at Tay across the room. “And why should I tell you anything?”

 

“I give you information and you give me some.” He said and tossed Tay his shirt so she can cover herself up. She slipped it on and felt absolutely ridiculous. It was way too big and when she looked over, he smirked and he was also half naked. She looked away, a bit embarrassed and then dragged a kitchen chair over to the end of the bed.

 

Tay sat down and dragged in a deep breath. “My family was murdered. I came home one day after being at the pool and grill and everything was broken. I could hear my mom, she was whimpering and when I found her in the living room… it killed me to see her like that. She was bound and gagged. Blood was everywhere. She kept trying to communicate with me but I didn’t pay that any mind because my only goal was to get her out of there. I went over to her and tried to take off her gag but the fabric burned me. Someone must have come up from behind me without me noticing and stabbed me in the back with a needle, I assume. Then I was unconscious.”

 

Klaus had nodded through the entire story and said, “What about the rest of your family?”

 

“No. It’s your turn to tell me something now. What does it mean to ‘awaken’?” Tay asked and put air quotes around the word awaken.

 

“When you turn eighteen, the siren in you awakens so to speak and you become one. Now, what about the rest of your family?” Klaus persisted.

 

“Are you sure you don’t need sleep?” He gave her a look that said no so she continued. “I don’t know. My dad had his heart ripped out. I saw his body. I don’t know what happened to Sy, my brother. When I saw their bodies, he was covered with a blanket. I didn’t want to see him if it was bad enough the Salvatores had to cover it.” Tay looked expectantly to him. “What comes with being awakened? Like what can I do?”

 

“Well, you have super speed but not strength. When you sing, whatever emotion your conveying in the song affects those around you. Like when you were angry earlier, you sang and the glass broke, which by the way, I don’t recommend doing again. Or you can heal yourself with healing as you’ve already figured out. All sirens are exceptionally beautiful.” Klaus smiled at Tay and she blushed and looked down.

 

“I bet you're lying about the last part but no matter. What else do you want to know about me?” Klaus paused for a moment, as if really thinking about his next question.

 

“What’s your favorite flower?” Tay looked surprised and smiled as she fiddled with the bottom of her shirt.

 

“You’re going to laugh at me.” Klaus shrugged but gestured for her to continue and answer. “A rose. White roses.”

 

Klaus did laugh, a breathy laugh that said he was completely amused. When he didn’t look like he was going to stop, Tay sped around the room and grabbed a pillow the started to hit him with it. “Hey, what was that for love?”

 

“For laughing at me. It’s rude.” Tay flipped her hair out of her eyes and sped back to her chair. Klaus still had a smile.

 

“Do you know what a white rose symbolizes? Innocence. Purity.” Then he gestured to Tay like he was suggesting that she was.

 

“You think I’m innocent and pure? I am not!” Tay said indignantly.

 

“If you weren’t so, then you would have used the lovely voice of yours and caused me excruciating pain or at the very least shattered something.” He let the smile leave his face and then Tay sighed.

 

“I’m going to let you sleep now.” She sped around and turned off the lights. “Goodnight Klaus.”

 

“Night love.” Tay threw another pillow at him and he chuckled. She walked over to the couch and sat down then looked around to see what she can do during the night. Then she realized her family’s funeral was in two days, well, more like one because it was already three in the morning of the next day. Klaus had better return her back to her house.

 

She spotted a book and grabbed it but read the title and was not surprised it was a textbook. A history one, nonetheless. Tay read it anyway because she didn't see another book around that wasn't right by Klaus’s head on the bedside table. She realized that all of her senses had been heightened and she could hear every breath Klaus took in, his slow heartbeat, and the crinkle of sheets. She extended her hearing beyond the room and heard a couple down a few flights… having fun, a very loud snorer next door, and Maddox, Greta, and Katherine sleeping in the other room. Tay was acutely aware of her own heartbeat which was calm and steady. She put down the textbook and settled into the couch then tried to fall asleep desperately.

 

She realized that she just laid there with her eyes closed so she got up and looked around to see that when she had been fighting with Klaus, they had messed up Rick’s apartment in the process. She picked up things lying around on the floor and then looked at the counter. The bowl of glass shards was still on the counter so she walked over and realized she didn’t know where to put them. She stared at the bowl, in thought, as if looking at it would help her resolve the problem.

 

Tay picked up the bowl then promptly dumped it in the trash can and placed it by the door. She continued to clean up their mess and when she heard Klaus’s voice she jumped. “Well, I do love watching a woman clean.”

 

Tay turned around and gave him her deadliest glare. “Don’t even start with me, Niklaus Mikaelson.”

 

He didn't respond verbally but instead he rushed over to her and traced her neck with his lips. She stood there, completely still and terrified that he would rip her throat out. “Don’t worry sweetheart. I’m not hungry now.”

 

Tay sighed a breath of relief as he moved away. He pulled out a couple of shirts and held them up, silently asking which she preferred. “The red one.”

 

He moved to undress and Tay quickly turned around. She opened the fridge to grab a water bottle then rummaged around for some food. Unfortunately as a vampire, all Klaus had in his fridge are blood bags, which she had no room to stomach. “Are you going to let me go any time soon? I have my family’s funeral tomorrow and I’d like to prepare.”

 

“Prepare for what? Katerina, Greta, and Maddox you all can come out now.” Klaus yelled out. Katherine whooshed out and situated herself on the chair. Maddox and Greta came out a bit more slowly and Tay became uneasy. She was never comfortable near witches even though Bonnie was one.

 

“Prepare to say goodbye to the only family I had left when they were brutally murdered.” She shot back with tears which threatened to escape from her eyes but just as she was about to cry she steeled herself and didn't cry. Tay refused to cry any longer. “The funeral is tomorrow and I’d like to get home.”

 

“Of course. Maddox, will you escort her home.” Maddox nodded and opened the door. “Get some sleep love.”

 

“Don’t kill anyone while I’m gone, Niklaus.” Tay followed Maddox out when she heard Klaus reply with “No promises.”

 

She sighed and she heard Klaus laugh then Tay turned to Maddox. “Why are you even helping that idiot anyway?”

 

All of a sudden, Klaus stood in front of her with his hand on her throat and a deadly stare. “I’d be very careful what you say next sweetheart.”

 

Tay ripped herself out of his grasp and ran at Klaus with a deadly speed then pushed him on the floor with her pinning him. He grinned up at her before he tossed her down the hall and made her crash against a wall. She promptly stood up and her and Klaus crash heads again before a splitting pain in her head made her stop mid- kick and she collapsed to the floor and clutched her head. Tay saw Klaus in pain as well and he snarled in anguish. “Go to hell, Klaus.”

 

With the searing pain still in her head she dashed away and as soon as she was out of Maddox’s sight, the pain disappeared. She didn't know how to get to her house from Rick’s place but she followed the cars and blurred right past them into the small town of Mystic Falls. Tay spotted the grill and saw Damon and Rick at the bar. She listened in on their conversation and realized that she’s the topic of conversation.

 

“I saw her with Klaus though. What has she doing with Klaus?”

 

“I don’t know. Maybe he took her and used her as a personal blood bag.” Well, Damon wasn’t wrong. “She’s probably dead.”

 

Damon ordered a drink and Rick said to the bartender, “I’ll have the same.”

 

Damon seemed as if he has something he wanted to say but he took a moment and Tay waited in anticipation. “I. Screwed. Up.”

 

“Yea, yea you did.” Suddenly Tay’s arms were yanked forward and she saw Klaus grin down at her. He dragged her over to Damon and Rick and greeted them.

 

“Gentleman.” Rick looked at her with confusion and Damon barely cast a glance at Klaus. “Why so glum?”

 

Tay winced and whimpered under his grip that was breaking her forearm and he glared at her. “Let the big boys talk sweetheart.”

 

She just glared in return and opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. “Cat got your tongue, my lovely?”

 

She wanted to yell at him so badly but Maddox or Greta must have cast a spell that took away her voice. She watched Damon groan as he looked up and saw him. “Klaus, I presume.”

 

“In the flesh.” Tay just stood there under Klaus’s death grip and waited for him to let her go. Klaus looked at Rick and said, “Thanks for the loan, mate.”

 

Tay rolled her eyes and Rick just stared back at Klaus. Damon got up with a pissed off look and his green eyes wide with anger. “Any reason you stopped by to say hi?”

 

“I’ve been told that you and your brother fancy my doppelganger.” Elena. Tay began to struggle but it only succeeded in breaking her bones and while although she intended to scream in pain, nothing comes out. “Just thought I’d remind you not to do anything you’ll regret.”

 

“Huh.” Damon smirked as if that’s exactly what he planned on doing just that. “Thanks for the advice.” Klaus raised his eyebrows and applied more pressure, now he moved his grip to Tay’s shoulder and slowly broke it. “I don’t suppose I could talk you into a postponement, by any chance?”

 

Klaus laughed humorlessly as his smile began to fade. He looked at Damon then asked, “You’re kidding right? He’s kidding?”

 

Klaus posed the last question to Rick who watched Tay for the past five minutes. She mouthed the word help but Rick shifted his focus elsewhere and answered Klaus’s question instead. She groaned although no one heard it and she began to tune out the rest of the conversation. Klaus abruptly dragged her away and she heard Damon talk about screwing it up. Tay rolled her eyes and thought that it was typical of Damon. “Well, sweetheart, I just can’t leave you alone without you causing some sort of trouble, now can I?”

 

Tay glared at him and wanted to reply back but she knew it would be pointless to because she had no voice. Stupid witches. Her entire left arm burst with pain and there was no music around to let it heal. Plus if she couldn’t sing, she couldn’t heal. Klaus dragged her outside and shoved her into the car. She sat next to him with her arms crossed and he smirked at her. “What? No lovely remarks? No snippy little comments? Oh that’s right. I just didn’t want you to reveal my big plans. Maddox will return your voice to you soon, siren.”

 

The conversation should have been one sided but Tay was too expressive with her face and she made a face that said she just wanted to go home. “Oh come on love. Don’t be like that.”

 

She turned away and looked out the window; she listened to find a source of music she could listen to and channel into healing herself. She extends her hearing and for a brief moment she heard a radio but then the car continued on, which carried her away from the source. Tay banged her head against the window and Klaus chuckled but didn’t say anything. After they turned to her house, she straightened and raised an eyebrow at Klaus. “I’m not letting you free. In fact, I’m keeping you company for the day.”


	12. Chapter 12

Tay got out of the car and looked at her house as Klaus walked up the front porch and waited by the door. “Going to invite me in?”

 

Tay pointed to her mouth and smirked. She shrugged and went to grab the keys out of Klaus’s hand but he pulled away at the last second. She pouted and he held them out for her to grab so Tay reached out to take them but he pulled away again. She glared at him and folded her arms across her chest. “Something wrong?”

 

She dragged a finger across the middle of her neck as she glared at Klaus. She lunged at him and Klaus growled, his vampire face coming out. She bared her own teeth at him and he looked at her in shock but sped towards her and grabbed her around the waist, which made the two of them fly off the porch and her back scraped against the driveway. Tay silently yelled and slid out from his grasp. She winced as she stood up and Klaus turned her around and inspected her back.

 

Tay yanked herself out of his surprisingly tender touch and she realized her blood is all over his fingers. He was probably hungry and she slowly walked away from him. She tilted her head and tried to study him, cautious of his every moment. Klaus understood what she did but he stepped towards her with a pained look on his face. He swept away her hair and vamped out before he bit into her neck. Tay’s mouth opened in shock as he sucked on her neck and she felt the blood trickle down between her breasts.

 

She silently moaned from the exquisite feelings that he elicited and Klaus stopped for a moment to look at Tay whose face was in pure bliss. She looked at him with clouded over eyes of pleasure and suddenly she was taken away from him. Tay was held by a man in a suit with chocolate brown hair that sweeps across his forehead. Klaus straightened and looked at the man with a smile.

 

“Ah brother.” Brother? So this must be Elijah. Elena and Stefan had told her about him and how he was honorable but not trustworthy because of his bond with Klaus. “How are you?”

 

Elijah gripped Tay’s shoulders and she winced when he touched her injured shoulder and her back. He bit his wrist and forced his wrist in her mouth. Her eyes flew open as she tried to get away but the blood still managed to get down her throat and she fell to her knees.

 

The blood burned her throat on its way down; she grasped her throat and tried to cough but nothing coming out. Why couldn’t Klaus tell Maddox to give her her voice back? Tay tried to regurgitate it but it had already seeped into her system and burned everything in its path and she looked up to glare at Elijah. She could feel the blood make its way to her stomach and she curled in on herself as Klaus and Elijah fretted over her, trying to heal her. She weakly pushed them away but Klaus had drained a lot of her blood in addition to the lack of sleep and food. Tay got up and sped towards the house then ran up to her room which she knew would have no windows because she had broken them earlier. She looked for a way to get up to her windows when she ran back and scaled the sides of the house. She jumped into her house and amazed herself when she actually made it in. Tay ran down the stairs and grabbed a knife.

 

Tay dragged it across her skin and rushed to the door to see Elijah there. She shoved her wrist in his face and his face turned to his own vampire face. He turned away and she stomped her foot, angry at him and she tried to get his attention. He looked at her and she gestured that she wanted him to suck her blood. She thought that he can take the vampire blood out of her system by drinking it. “I might kill you.” 

 

She stomped her foot again and then Elijah took her wrist arm and drank from it. She felt the poison leaving her system and she felt faint and black spots started to cover her vision. “Enough, Elijah.” She tried to say but nothing was heard.

 

Elijah held her wrist tightly, and drank in her highly addictive blood. She should have warned him about that but now there was no chance of doing so and she sank to the floor and passed out. Klaus stood there and he guided Tay to the porch swing then set her down so she “slept” on the porch. Elijah stood there with a frantic look as he had realized what he had done.

 

~~

 

When she woke up, she gasped and bolted upright. It was dark and Elijah sat there with a grim face. She looked at him and noticed everything was extremely heightened. She opened her mouth to speak but Klaus took her voice away. She gave him a questioning look

 

“I came here to check on Klaus when I saw him feeding from you so I pushed you away from him then I fed you my blood. You started seizing up and you gestured for me to drink your blood and I did but… I took too much and your heart gave out and you died.”

 

She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out and she started to shake with anger. Klaus. He still hadn’t lifted the spell. Wait, she had died? She looked over at Elijah with a tilt of her head and her eyebrows knitted together, which asked him to clarify what he meant. “Klaus told me what you are. A siren. I don’t know what you are now, perhaps a siren and a vampire? I have no knowledge of this happening before.”

 

He stood up and angrily paced the porch. She went to walk into her house but an invisible barrier locked her out even though the door was open. Stupid vampire restrictions. Tay’s mouth was open and she closed it with an audible snap. Tay felt the anger build up and she felt the anger bubble just below the surface. She gestured to ask where Klaus was. “Niklaus is currently breaking the curse.”

 

Elena. She dragged Elijah with her and they sprinted to the quarry and she saw two dead bodies and Elena in Klaus’s arms as he drained her dry. Tay sprinted down and ran faster than Elijah but was blocked by a circle of fire that encased her. Greta smirked down at her and Stefan growled behind her. “No.”

 

Klaus continued and Tay moved closer to the edge but the fire where she wanted to exit built itself higher. She stomped her foot in frustration and wondered where Elijah went. Klaus let Elena go and she dropped to the ground. Dead.

 

Tay screamed her name while nothing comes out, tears streamed down her cheeks for the overwhelming grief. Suddenly Klaus was flung to the side and in front of Greta, the bowl flamed up. Tay heard Bonnie’s voice and she looked behind her to see her chanting in her archaic language as Damon snuck up behind Greta and snapped her neck. Instantly the flames extinguished and Tay watched as Damon pick up Elena and placed her next to Stefan who was still on the ground, injured from the stake in his spine. Klaus writhed in agony from the pain of the transformation and the pain of whatever Bonnie did to him.

 

Tay realized she didn’t want Klaus to die, as infuriating and arrogant the bastard was so she ran over to Bonnie with the intent to knock her out thus ending her chanting. She was thrown to the side by Elijah and she landed in the tree tops. She silently groans as she was impaled on a tree branch stub and she struggled to get the branch out of her stomach. Tay silently cursed Elijah. She pushed herself off the tree and tried to yell as the branch scraped her insides. Tay was finally free from the branch when she saw Elijah calmly walk over to Klaus who still rolled around in agony.

 

Elijah suddenly buried his hand in Klaus’s chest and said a few words although Tay couldn’t catch them because she was too far away. She dropped down from the tree and waited for her feet to hit the ground. Elijah hesitated to pull out Klaus’s heart but Tay was able to hear the words exchanged. “I didn’t bury them at sea,” Klaus gasped out. “If you kill me, you’ll never find them.”

 

Elijah kneeled over him and considered his words as he gripped Klaus’s heart. Tay ran over to them but Stefan held her back. Stefan begged Elijah not to listen to him, to kill Klaus but Klaus continued to talk and sway his brother’s thoughts. “I can take you to them. I give you my word brother.”

 

Bonnie threatened to kill them both and Tay was free of Stefan’s grasp and Elijah turned to the pair and said, “I’m sorry.”

 

Elijah grabbed both Klaus and Tay and they disappeared into the night then ran as quickly as they can.

 

~~

 

Elijah and Tay supported Klaus as he’s still transformed into a werewolf- hybrid and she glared at the man who took her voice away from her. His bones snapped and broke and she cringed away from the noise. Soon enough Elijah, Tay, and Klaus were far enough away from civilization and Elijah and Tay dropped Klaus to the ground as he finished his transformation. Klaus finally completed his bone-breaking metamorphosis and he was a wolf. He dashed away into the night and Elijah and Tay chased after him to make sure he didn’t slaughter an entire town or city. Wolf- Klaus and Tay played chase and he almost caught her before she dashed away into the nearest tree with her improved vampire strength.

 

“If you get bitten, you could die.” Elijah said casually as he watched the two fool around. Tay shrugged and narrowly evaded Klaus’s bite. She waved a hand over to him as if she invited him to play and Elijah shook his head. “No thank you.”

 

Soon enough a day passed and then night fell and the two still played. Tay realized that she isn’t hurt by the sun even though she’s a vampire. She frowns as she waited for Klaus to wake up. She wasn’t close enough to see him but she heard him sleeping. Right now, he had no clothes on and Elijah had gone to fetch him clothes so he may be clothed when Klaus came to. Elijah had come back has clothes in his hand and leaned against the tree that Tay had perched herself in. “Has he awoken yet?”

 

Elijah looked up to see Tay shake her head and he frowned. They waited until the sun had almost reach midpoint when Klaus finally began to awaken. Elijah tossed the clothes just above Klaus’s head and said, “You’ve been busy.”

 

Tay dropped to the ground and stood up straight, but avoided looking at Klaus as he sat there bare. “That was amazing.” Klaus said with a wonder filled sigh. “How long has it been?”

 

“Almost two days.” Elijah replied. “The full moon came and went yet you remained a wolf.”

 

Tay could hear that Klaus finally had pants on due to the jingle of the belt buckle. She opened her eyes and turned towards him. “I can change at will then. That’s good to know. I remember every single kill. Every single chase.”

 

With that he looked at Tay who just glared back. “Yes, we’ve been cleaning up your mess along the way.”

 

“Just like old times brother.” Klaus replied and he still looked at Tay.

 

“Well, you’ve had your fun. I believe we have a bargain.” Elijah said as he passed by Klaus and he handed him a pair of shoes.

 

“That’s right. Now what was it again?” Klaus taunted his older brother with a knowing look. Tay sprinted over and yanked on Klaus’s hair as he growled at Tay but continued to dress. “Oh, wait I remember. That’s it. You wish to be reunited with our family.”

 

Elijah brushed off the dirt on the jacket and looked at Tay while he said, “You gave me your word Niklaus.”

 

“Well what kind of brother would break his bond, even though you did try to kill me?” Klaus said with a backwards glance at Elijah before he pulled on a shirt. Tay rolled her eyes and tried to speak but again, nothing came out. She frowned in frustration and Elijah gives her a small smile before he angrily turned to Klaus as he shook the jacket.

 

“I could have.” He said as he held out the jacket to help Klaus get dressed. “But I didn’t.”

 

“Now no one can, not even you.” Klaus replied as he looked over at Tay and Elijah. “Thanks Elijah. All is forgiven.”

 

Tay rolled her eyes at this and turned away, scenting someone walking in the woods. Elijah spoke, which distracted Tay for a moment. “Where are they?”

 

“You need to lighten up. I’ll bring you to our home soon enough.” With that Klaus walked over to Tay and took her face in his hands. “Hello love. How are you still alive?”

 

She just glared back at him and ripped her chin out of his grasp. Tay ran a few feet away from him and continued to glare at him. “What? Are you giving me the silent treatment?”

 

“She can’t speak, Niklaus.” Klaus ripped his gaze from Tay to look at Elijah with raised eyebrows. “Your witches took care of that problem.”

 

Klaus looked back at Tay, almost with a look of pity but it was gone as quickly as it appeared. “What a crying shame. So what are you, love? A vampire? Or a siren?”

 

Tay looked to Elijah and sped over to his side to move away from Klaus. “She’s both. Well, she should be both if she got her voice back.”

 

“My witches are dead, so you’ll need another witch, Teles.”

 

“That’s your name?” Elijah asked as he looked down at her. She shook her head no and rolled her eyes at Klaus. Elijah looked to Klaus for the answer but Tay thought that Klaus might lie. She looked around for a branch and grabbed it before she ripped chunks of grass out and cleared a patch of dirt. She traced her name in the dirt and Elijah read, “Tay?”

 

She smiled and nodded. Then she proceeded to write something which made Elijah laugh. Klaus sped over and looked over Tay’s shoulder. “Very funny, sweetheart.”

 

Tay had written in the dirt that she was going to kill Klaus when she got her voice back. She wanted to laugh at Klaus’s angry expression but instead she had to settle for smiling widely. She traced another thing into the dirt, “Can we find a witch soon?”

 

Elijah nodded at Tay and she danced up and down while zipping around happily. Klaus turned to his brother and whispered , “I don’t think I’ve ever seen her that happy.”

 

“Where’s our family Niklaus?” Elijah asks, impatient.

 

“Alright brother, I will show you. Come along, Tay.” Tay stopped dancing around and she zoomed over to the Mikaelson brothers. She raised an eyebrow and cocked a hip as she crossed her arms. “Oh don’t give me that pouty look sweetheart.”

 

He reached up to place a hand on her cheek but she slapped it away and ran like a bullet. Klaus and Elijah followed after her but soon realized that Tay was faster than the two of them. She let them catch up and they headed to Rick’s apartment that Klaus had seemed to take over. She let Klaus and Elijah lead and then she stepped in but was blocked by a barrier. She stomped her foot, getting Klaus and Elijah’s attention. Klaus smirked and invited her in but when he turned around, they saw Stefan and Katherine huddled together. “Klaus. Look who decided to come for a visit.”

 

Stefan seemed surprised that Tay was there and he looked at her for a moment before he turned to Klaus and Elijah. From the British accent, she could tell it was Klaus that spoke next. “You just keeping popping up, don’t you?”

 

“I need your help. For my brother.”

 

“Well whatever it is, it’s going to have to wait a tick. You see I have an obligation to my brother that requires my immediate attention.” Klaus said as he moved around the apartment. Tay sat atop the counter and watched silently as it played out. Klaus was up to something and she wanted to know what and she wanted to know if she needed to run.

 

“You understand how important family is or you wouldn’t be here.” Elijah walked closer to Stefan then said, “My brother gave me his word that he would reunite me with mine.”

 

“And so I shall.” Klaus blurred behind Elijah and pulls out a dagger and Tay jumped up then ran to Elijah just as Elijah fell to the floor with a yell and a dagger embedded into his heart. Tay pushed Klaus out of the way and looked at Elijah, about to pull the dagger back out when Klaus pushed her away into the counter. Her spine cracked and she fell to the floor as Klaus regarded her as a cat would a mouse. Klaus then ran over to Stefan and held him against the wall with Klaus’s hand wrapped around Stefan’s throat. Tay could feel the bones meld together and as soon as they were she stood up and looked at Elijah, a tear fell from her cheek. “Now, what am I going to do with you?”

 

Klaus stabbed Stefan with a knife, and threatened him with his life, saying that the slightest movement would kill him. “The witches said you had a cure. Just give me the cure and I’ll do whatever you want.”

 

Klaus ripped out the blade and walked over to where Tay perched, her eyes dry again as she stared at Elijah’s body on the ground. Klaus handed Tay the knife and she glared at him then went back to looking at Elijah who was joined by Stefan and his groans of pain. Katherine stood by and watched, occasionally defending Stefan’s reasons behind coming to the apartment. Klaus slowly turned around and says, “The trouble is, I don’t know if you’ll be any good to me now, the way you are.”

 

Klaus poured a portion of a blood bag into two cups and handed one to Tay then drank the other. She sipped on it and watched Klaus. He began to tell the tale of the Monterrey Ripper and she rolled her eyes. Now was not the time for story time in her opinion. The blood wasn't her favorite type and she began to rifle through the fridge for an O negative bag, a particularly sweet savory flavor.

 

“Katerina, come here.” Klaus held out his hand and Katherine slowly approached, wary of what Klaus is about to do. Tay watched with curiosity and she sipped directly from the blood bag. “Tay, don’t drink all of the blood. I have a feeling I’m going to need it later.”

 

She rolled her eyes and continued to drink as she sat back onto the counter. Klaus twisted her hand and his face transformed, not into his vampire face but into a new one. His hybrid one. His eyes were yellow and he had four sets of canines, rather than two. Klaus bit into Katherine’s wrist and Tay began to understand what he’s doing; he was showing Stefan how to cure a werewolf bite. She leaned forward, intrigued and her blood bag forgotten. She saw Klaus bite his wrist and shove his own wrist forcefully into Katherine’s mouth. So Klaus’s blood was the cure. Hm.

 

Klaus turned to Stefan and said, “Now, let’s talk. You and I. Teles sweetheart. Please, join us.”

 

Tay watched as they approached the counter and Klaus stood right next to her and gestured for the knife that she had stabbed into the counter top. She yanked it out and spun it a few tips before she forcefully handed it to him, cutting his palm and he just smiled at her. She fake smiled right back at him and Klaus began to let his blood drip into a bottle. Stefan sat at the far end of the counter and she watched him more closely. Stefan refused to be Klaus’s wing man because Stefan no longer drank human blood so Klaus began to slowly pour the blood down the sink. “Wait.”

 

Klaus stopped and Tay rolled his eyes at the amount of arrogance this guy had. “Now that’s more like it. I want you to join me for a drink.”

 

Klaus grabbed Tay’s blood bag and slid it over to Stefan. Tay’s outraged and she grabbed her blood bag from Stefan’s hands then replaced it with an unopened one. She slapped Klaus upside the head and perched herself back up onto the counter. Stefan smiled a bit and Klaus breathily laughed. “I like them feisty.”

 

Tay slapped Klaus’s arm and he glared at her then went back to watching Stefan. Stefan ripped the top open and took a sip but Klaus, being the arrogant idiot he was, demanded that he finish the bag then laid out the terms of the agreement; Stefan did everything Klaus said and Klaus would save Damon. When Stefan downed the first bag, Klaus moved to grab Tay’s bag but she slapped his hands away and he grabbed a different, and threw it at Stefan. “Again.”

 

Tay zoned out for awhile, moving to the bed and opening the history textbook she had been reading earlier. Then she realized that she’s missed her family’s funeral. Tay hadn't thought about them in a while and she immediately felt the tears flow down her cheeks. “Now love, there’s no need to cry. Stefan’s doing a great job.”

 

Tay looked up at Klaus and glared at him, daring him to tease her again. She ripped out a blank page from the textbook and grabbed a pen to write why she was crying. She thrust the paper in his face and he grabbed it and read. His face turned blank and he ripped apart the paper. “I wish you could talk. That would have been a lot more fun to hear.”

 

Tay shook with rage and she lunged for Klaus but he grabbed her waist and held her extremely close, crushing her as he hold her to him. He dragged her over to Stefan who had blood dripping down his chin and they agree to the deal. Klaus, still carting Tay around in his arms, turned to her and said, “Love, go bring this to Damon.”

 

Tay gave him a look that begged the question, “Are you serious?” Klaus rolled his eyes then handed the bottle of his blood to Katherine. “Sweetheart, I want you to take this to Damon.”

 

“You want me to leave?” Katherine was happy because she had been compelled not to leave. She raced out the door and Stefan said no because Katherine would never take it to Damon. Klaus just shrugged and turned to Tay.

 

“Why don’t you go make sure Katerina delivers it?” Tay rolled her eyes but relieved to be out of Klaus’s grasp. Tay sped out and decided whether she should actually go check up on Katherine or just skip town. Eventually she checked up on Katherine but saw her in bed with a clearly dying Damon. Oh, wait, that’s Elena. Tay hovered outside the window and saw Elena kiss Damon as Katherine entered the house. Katherine handed the cure to Damon and Tay watched as Damon took the cure.

 

With her job done, she raced back to Rick’s apartment to find a note that Klaus had taken Stefan and Elijah’s body to a warehouse that he left the address to. She debated on whether she should find them but she needed to find Elijah so she left to find them.


End file.
